Butler  and  His  Cavalry 


IN  THE 


War  of  Secession 

1861-1865 

BY 

U.  R.  BROOKS 


COMPLETE-  IN:  'ONE -VOLUME 


1909 

THE  STATE  COMPANY 
Columbia,  S.  C. 


B577 


COPYRIGHT  1909 

By 
THE  STATE  COMPANY 


THE  JACKET  OF  GRAY 

BY  ELLIE  BROOKS  JONES 

Gently  and  tenderly  fold  it  away, 
The  tattered  and  faded  jacket  of  gray; 
Bloodstained  are  the  buttons  of  "C.  S.  A." 

We  loved  it  so !  when  our  hopes  were  brightest, 
And  their  valor  made  our  hearts  the  lightest, 
And  our  Cause  the  purest  and  the  whitest. 

When  we  count  the  rosary  of  our  years 
For  the  Heroes  who  died — ah !  saddest  tears ! 
For  the  Knights  in  gray — oh !  glorious  cheers. 

Of  our  dead,  we'll  sing  in  a  minor  song 
And  the  sobbing  low  notes  of  woe  prolong, 
And  we'll  lay  in  a  grave  all  thought  of  wrong. 

Their  honor  untarnished — bright  as  the  day, 
Patriots  so  grand  !  we'll  love  them  alway, 
Oh  !  gallant  Heroes  of  the  C.  S.  A. 


U.    R.    BROOKS 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1805. 


PREFACE 

An  old  man  living  in  Kentucky  during  the  Secession  War  had 
two  sons ;  one  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  Army  and  the  other  in 
the  United  States  Army.  Within  twelve  months  one  was  brought 
home  dead,  and  within  a  short  time  the  other  was  brought  home 
like  his  brother,  having  also  been  killed  in  battle.  Both  wrere 
buried  in  his  garden  side  by  side  and  this  inscription  was  placed 
upon  the  monument:  "God  alone  knows  which  was  right.'' 

It  is  not  left  with  me  to  decide  who  was  right  or  who  was 
wrong.  I  think  that  some  one  should  write  a  history  of  the  gal 
lant  deeds  of  the  men  who  composed  the  brigade  to  which  he 
belonged.  I  have  attempted  to  write  the  history  of  "Butler  and 
his  Cavalry."  Though  very  imperfectly  done,  I  console  myself 
because  it  was  the  best  I  could  do. 

"History  is  a  brilliant  illustration  of  the  past,  and  leads  us  into 
a  charmed  field  of  wonder  and  delight.  It  reflects  the  deeds  of 
men,  and  throws  its  rays  upon  the  just  and  unjust,  and  leads  us 
upward  and  onward  to  that  mention  of  facts  bearing  directly 
upon  a  brilliancy  surrounding  our  everyday  life — as  it  was  and  as 
it  is." 

In  the  language  of  Gen.  Johnson  Hagood,  "My  comrades,  it  is  a 
long  time  since  we  have  looked  into  each  other's  eyes  and  grasped 
each  other's  hands.  In  the  long  ago  we  together  toiled  in  the 
weary  march  and  looked  upon  'battle's  magnificently  stern  array' ; 
together  we  have  felt  the  mad  excitement  of  the  charge,  the 
glorious  enthusiasm  of  victory,  the  sullen  anger  of  defeat;  and 
harder,  sterner  duties  have  been  our  lot.  Together  we  have  passed 
through  the  valley  and  the  shadow  of  political  reconstruction. 
We  have  seen  civil  rights,  sacred  from  tradition  and  baptized  in 
the  blood  of  a  patriotic  ancestry,  trampled  in  the  dust.  We  have 
seen  the  accumulations  of  two  centuries  of  thrift  and  industry 
sw^ept  away  and  the  State  plundered  as  a  ship  by  a  pirate  crew. 
But  'God  fulfills  Himself  in  many  ways.' ' 

U.  R.  BROOKS. 


Dedicated 

to  the 
Memory  of  my  Brother 

Whitfield  Butler  Brooks 

Company  B,  Sixth  S.  C.  Cavalry 

2 1st  July,  1845         12th  June,  1864 

Killed  at  the  Battle  of  Trevillian,  Virginia 

Brief,  Yet  Brave  and  Glorious  Was  His  Young  Career 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  WHITFIELD  B.  BROOKS 

As  it  is  our  duty,  so  it  is  our  sad  pleasure,  to  entwine  the  laurel 
with  the  cypress  above  the  tomb  of  those  who,  preferring  glory 
and  honor  to  shame  and  degradation, — sacrificing  their  ease 
and  comfort  for  hardships  and  dangers,  have  offered  up  them 
selves  willing  sacrifices  upon  the  bleeding  altar  of  their  country. 

"Two  years  ago,  with  heart  bounding  high  with  hope,  form 
elastic  with  health— eyes  bright  with  the  enjoyment  of  life,  Whit- 
field  B.  Brooks  left  his  parental  roof  for  the  tented  field,  a  noble 
and  patriotic  ambition,  gilding,  like  the  dawning  sun,  the  opening 
pathway  of  life.  Alas !  in  the  terrible  ordeal,  in  the  fierce  colli 
sion  and  shock  of  battle,  he  has  gone  down, — while  honor  decks 
the  turf  that  wraps  his  clay. 

"He  was  a  member  of  Company  B,  Sixth  Regiment,  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  and,  in  the  language  of  his  captain,  'was  ever  at 
his  post  and  never  failing  in  his  duty.'  On  the  second  day's  fight 
at  Trevillian  Station,  Va.,  June  12th,  1864,  fell  this  noble  boy, 
pierced  through  the  head  by  a  ball  from  the  enemies  of  his 
country,  and  the  despoilers  of  his  native  land,  ere  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  nineteen  years.  His  gentle,  kind  and  unassuming  man 
ners  that  peculiarly  endeared  him  to  his  parents,  won  for  him  the 
affection  of  his  comrades  in  arms,  and  the  confidence  of  his 
officers.  Of  quiet  habit,  energetic  and  ambitious  in  his  studies, 
had  he  lived,  and  borne  out  the  promise  of  his  youth,  he  would 
have  culminated  an  honor  to  his  family,  an  ornament  to  society, 
and  in  usefulness  to  his  country." 

The  above  was  written  in  June,  1864,  by  that  gallant  soldier 
and  able  lawyer,  Colonel  H.  W.  Addison,  who  left  a  leg  on  the 
plains  of  Virginia. 

Whitfield  Butler  Brooks,  on  his  paternal  side,  descended  from 
Captain  James  Butler,  who  was  massacred  by  Bloody  Bill  Cun 
ningham  on  Cloud's  Creek,  Lexington  County,  S.  C.,  in  1781,  who 
was  the  father  of  Elizabeth  Butler  (a  sister  of  General  William 
Butler,  grandfather  of  General  M.  C.  Butler),  who  married 
Zachariah  Smith  Brooks,  whose  only  son  was  Whitfield  Brooks, 
who  married  Mary  Parsons  Carroll,  a  sister  of  Chancellor  Carroll, 


8  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

in  1818,  whose  second  son  was  James  Carroll  Brooks,  who  was  the 
father  of  Whitfield  Butler  Brooks,  whose  uncles  were  Preston  S. 
Brooks  and  Whitfield  Butler  Brooks,  who  fell  mortally  wounded 
at  Cherubusco,  Mexico,  August  20,  1847,  and  Hon.  John  Hamp- 
den  Brooks,  now  of  Greenwood  County,  S.  C.  His*oniy  aunt  was 
Ellen  Brooks,  who  married  General  R.  G.  M.  Dunovant. 

On  his  maternal  side  he  descended  from  Rev.  Peter  Robert, 
who  was  the  first  Huguenot  minister  of  the  Carolina  Colony  and 
settled  in  St.  Johns,  Berkeley,  in  1690,  who  was  father  of  John 
Robert.  His  son,  James  Robert,  and  grandson,  John  Robert,  Jr., 
whose  son,  William  H.  Robert,  fought  in  the  Revolution  and  was 
the  father  of  Ulysses  Maner  Robert,  whose  daughter  was  Sarah 
Crawford  Robert,  married  James  Carroll  Brooks,  November  20, 
1843,  and  was  the  mother  of  Whitfield  Butler  Brooks,  who  was 
born  July  21st,  1845. 

"Whitfield  B.  Brooks,  with  other  young  Carolinians,  tendered 
their  young  lives  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  South  Carolina,  their 
native  State,  enlisted  as  volunteers  in  the  Confederate  army,  in 
defense  of  th<eir  homes,  and  fell  in  battle,  contending  for  a  prin 
ciple  taught  them  by  their  fathers,  transmitted  from  preceding 
generations,  accepted,  considered  and  believed  by  them  to  be  truth 
eternal." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


INTRODUCTION 

It  has  been  forty-four  years  since  the  Confederate  sun  sank 
behind  the  horizon  at  Appomatox  never,  never  to  rise  again,  and 
those  of  us  who  have  survived  the  waste  of  time  should  write 
something  to  cherish  the  memories  of  our  heroes  who  fell  in  battle 
by  our  side  and  to  recall  the  gallant  deeds  that  were  displayed  on 
the  bloody  fields  in  the  War  of  Secession.  Whether  the  deeds  were 
crowned  with  success  or  consecrated  in  defeat,  is  to  idealize  prin 
ciple  and  strengthen  character,  intensifying  love  of  country  and 
convert  defeat  and  disaster  into  pillars  of  support  for  future  man 
hood  and  noble  womanhood. 

I  had  the  honor  to  belong  to  Butler's  Cavalry.  The  cavalry 
men  were  proud  of  their  leader  and  he  was  equally  proud  of  them. 

Shall  wre  allow  the  heroic  deeds  of  his  brave  followers  to  sink 
into  oblivion  ?  We  are  a  people  with  memories  of  heroic  suffering 
and  sacrifices,  so  let  us  preserve  our  history  and  let  it  be  written 
by  eye-witnesses  as  the  story  of  Butler  and  his  Cavalry  is  now 
being  told. 


On  the  20th  November,  1843,  Capt.  James  Carroll  Brooks,  of 
Edgefield,  S.  C.,  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Crawford 
Robert,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Col.  and  Mrs.  Ulysses  Maner 
Robert,  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Barnwell,  S.  C.  This  beautiful  home  was 
situated  between  Allendale,  S.  C.,  and  the  Savannah  River,  and 
was,  by  that  "prince  of  incendiaries,"  Major-General  W.  T.  Sher 
man,  burned  to  the  ground  in  1865  in  his  march  of  destruction  and 
desolation. 

To  this  happy  couple  was  born  on  the  21st  July,  1845,  Whit- 
field  Butler  Brooks,  who  was  killed  in  battle  12th  June,  1864,  in 
the  second  day's  fight  at  Trevillian,  Va.  On  the  27th  October, 
1846,  Ulysses  Robert  Brooks  wras  born  to  them.  My  mother  of 
blessed  memory — Almighty  God  be  praised  for  creating  such  a 
woman — was  well  persuaded  that  the  right  or  wrong  state  of 
human  nature  depends  as  necessarily  upon  the  education  of 
children  as  that  of  a  plant  upon  proper  culture,  and  that  the  whole 


10  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

of  this  art  consists  not  only  in  strengthening  the  body  by  suitable 
exercises,  and  opening  and  improving  the  faculties  of  the  mind 
by  proper  studies,  but,  above  all,  by  forming  in  youth  strong  and 
lasting  habits,  and  inspiring  them  with  the  most  noble  sentiments 
of  all  virtues.  Well  do  I  remember  the  beautiful  Bible  stories 
she  used  to  tell  me.  She  taught  me  to  fear  nothing  but  to  do 
wrong.  She  was  blessed  with  a  fine  intellect  and  possessed  of 
wonderful  energy.  She  loved  the  poor  and  they  loved  her,  no  one 
in  want  ever  left  our  house  with  an  empty  basket.  On  the  29th 
December,  1861,  God's  finger  touched  her,  and  she  slept. 

I  attended  school  at  the  Edgefield  Male  Academy  four  years. 
My  father  served  in  Kershaw's  Brigade  in  the  Peninsula  cam 
paign  in  1862,  and  in  the  same  year  was  appointed  enrolling  officer 
for  Edgefield  District,  and  was  elected  Captain  of  Co.  I,  State 
Troops.  On  the  21st  May,  1899,  he  went  to  his  reward,  full  of 
years  and  honors. 

In  1862  my  brother,  Whitfield  Butler  Brooks,  and  myself 
wanted  to  have  a  good  time  and  joined  the  Confederate  Cavalry, 
and  incidents  of  the  different  battles  that  our  Cavalry  participated 
in  are  as  fresh  to  me  as  though  they  had  been  fought  only  last 
week.  There  is  to  me  a  fascination  about  a  battle  that  cannot  be 
explained  or  described.  Among  other  things  I  learned  in  the 
army  was  that  a  smooth  sea  never  made  a  skillful  mariner; 
neither  do  uninterrupted  prosperity  and  success  qualify  for  use 
fulness  and  happiness.  The  storms  of  adversity,  like  the  storms 
of  the  ocean,  arouse  the  faculties  and  excite  the  invention,  pru 
dence,  skill  and  fortitude  of  the  voyager. 

On  the  26th  April,  1865,  when  Joe  Johnston  surrendered  his 
army  to  Sherman,  who  had  IT  to  1,  I  thought  the  war  was  over. 
Well,  it  was,  collectively,  bu;t  individually  it  was  still  on,  and  is 
yet.  The  battle  of  life  honestly  fought  is  a  struggle  that  requires 
courage  and  fortitude.  While  in  the  ranks  you  get  lots  of  encour 
agement,  but  when  you  climb  up  the  hill  above  the  level,  oh,  how 
slippery  and  steep.  Those  in  the  ranks  will  cheer  you  for  a  while, 
and  then  jealousy  will  crop  out  and  you  will  soon  discover  that  for 
every  Caesar  there  is  a  Brutus  who  will,  in  the  absence  of  his  dirk, 
use  his  tongue  which  is  keener  and  a  shade  more  dangerous.  Yet  I 
have  had,  and  still  have,  some  friends  tried  and  true,  and  thank 
God,  I  cling  to  the  memory  of  those  that  are  gone  and  to  the 
living  ones  with  hooks  of  steel. 


BUTLER  AFD  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  11 

In  the  War  of  Secession  Butler's  Cavalry  fought  some  of  all 
nationalities  and  captured  a  few  of  each.  I  say,  without  fear 
of  contradiction,  that  the  most  cruel  of  human  beings  when 
aroused  is  the  pure  white  man,  and  yet  the  bravest,  most  enduring, 
most  patient  and  superior  to  all  races. 

In  December,  1864,  some  of  the  white  men  of  Grant's  Army 
outraged  some  of  our  women  and  burnt  the  houses  over  their 
heads  in  Virginia.  The  ground  was  frozen  and  covered  with 
sleet.  Gen.  M.  C.  Butler,  as  soon  as  apprised  of  it,  at  once  ordered 
his  men  to  catch  these  people  and  throw  them  into  the  flames  of 
the  houses.  Some  had  their  throats  cut  before  being  put  into 
the  flames.  The  most  imitative  people  on  earth  hail  from  Africa. 
Some  of  them  ape  the  men  wrho  committed  these  outrages  and 
invite  their  own  destruction. 

On  the  24th  January,  1883,  when  I  hung  up  my  hat  in  the  State 
House,  I  said  to  myself,  "This  beats  plowing,"  especially  if  you 
have  to  plow  on  bread  and  water,  as  I  did  on  one  occasion  in 
the  absence  of  meat.  I  plowed  in  the  day  and  studied  law  at 
night.  Lawyers  don't  plow,  you  know. 

I  wrote  my  good  friend  General  Butler  not  to  worry  about  me, 
that  I  liked  my  surroundings  and  would  stay  as  long  as  I  could 
without  embarrassing  my  friends.  I  am  confident  that  they  are 
not  embarrassed,  and  I  am  still  at  my  post.  "Duty,"  General  Lee 
said,  "was  the  sublimest  word  in  the  English  language."  My 
motto  is,  "Glory  be  to  God  on  high  and  peace  on  earth  to  men  of 
good  will."  Let  us  pray  that  the  others  will  be  good,  too.  Let 
us  throw  the  veil  of  charity  over  all  mankind,  for  charity  is  the 
noblest  of  all  virtues  and  undoubtedly  the  rarest  practiced.  And 
yet  it  is  a  virtue  especially  loved  by  God,  without  which  it  is 
impossible  to  win  His  favor,  and  after  our  duty  to  Him,  He 
commands  us  to  practice  it.  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
above  all  things,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

Here  is  a  Confederate  permit: 

Confederate  States  of  America, 

Provost  Marshal's  Office, 
First  Military  District  S.  C., 
Charleston,  3d  December,  1862. 

Permission  is  granted  to  W.  B.  Brooks  and  horses  to  visit  Adams  Run 
upon  honor  not  to  communicate,  in  writing  or  verbally  for  publication,  any 


12  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1361-1865. 

fact  ascertained,   which,  known  to  the  enemy,  might  be  injurious  to  the 
Confederate  States  of  America. 
Good  for  two  days. 

WM.  J.  GAYER,  Provost  Marshal. 

In  1863  the  Conferedate  Government  had  all  the  horses  of  our 
regiment  appraised.  Here  is  the  form : 

Muster  roll  of  horses  and  equipments  of  U.  R.  Brooks :  Bay  stallion,  12 
years  old,  $1,000.00;  equipments,  etc.  We  certify  on  oath  that  the  figures 
opposite  the  name  on  this  roll  for  the  valuation  of  horse  and  horse  equip 
ments  represent  and  shows  the  true  cash  value  of  the  horse  and  equip 
ments  of  U.  R.  Brooks  at  the  place  of  muster,  according  to  our  honest, 
impartial  judgment. 

I. 

2  W.  D.  Evins,  First  Lieutenant  Co.  E,  6  S.  C.  C.  j 

3  J.  Taggart,  First  Lieutenant  Co.  G,  6  S.  C.  C.      }  Appn 
Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before 

J.  J.  GREGG,  Captain  Co.  B,  Sixth  S.  C.  C., 

Mustering  Officer. 

I  certify  on  honor  that  I  have  carefully  examined  the  above  mentioned 
horse  and  equipments  and  have  accepted  them  into  the  Confederate  States 
service  for  the  term  of  war  from  this  first  day  of  September,  1863. 

J.  J.  GREGG,  Captain  Co.  B,  Sixth  S.  C.  C., 

Mustering  Officer. 

SOLDIER'S  PASSPORT. 

Confederate  States  of  America  War  Department, 

Richmond,  July  17,  1864. 

Permission  is  granted  U.  R.  Brooks,  Co.  B,  Sixth  Cavalry  Regiment 
State  of  South  Carolina,  to  pass  to  Edgefield,  S.  C.,  (subject  to  the  discre 
tion  of  the  military  authorities. 

J.  H.  CARRINGTON, 
Major  and  Provost  Marshal. 

Description:  Age,  17  years  and  eight  months;  eyes,  gray;  hair,  light 
brown ;  height,  5  feet  7  inches ;  complexion,  fair. 

J.  H.  C. 

Although  I  had  a  short  furlough  signed  by  Butler,  Hampton 
and  R.  E.  Lee,  so  strict  were  the  orders  that  the  above  passport 
had  to  be  issued  before  I  could  leave  Richmond.  My  wound  was 
soon  healed  and  within  a  short  time  I  was  again  with  the  Cavalry. 

U.  R.  BROOKS. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  13 


SURVIVORS  OF  BUTLER'S  BRIGADE  FORM 
ORGANIZATION 

U.  R.  BROOKS  MADE  HISTORIAN 

Pursuant  to  notice,  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  survivors  of 
Butler's  Brigade  in  the  State  House  at  11  o'clock.  Gen.  M.  C. 
Butler  called  the  meeting  to  order  and  nominated  Col.  T.  J.  Lip- 
scomb,  of  Columbia,  as  chairman  of  the  meeting.  On  motion  of 
Col.  U.  R.  Brooks,  Col.  Wade  H.  Manning  was  requested  to  act  as 
secretary. 

On  motion  of  Gen.  M.  C.  Butler,  a  committee  on  organization, 
consisting  of  three  members,  was  appointed  as  follows:  Wade 
Hampton  Manning,  U.  R.  Brooks,  J.  N.  Fowles. 

Gen.  M.  C.  Butler  then  nominated  Comrade  U.  R.  Brooks  as  the 
historian  of  the  Association.  The  nomination  was  seconded,  and 
Comrade  U.  R.  Brooks  was  declared  elected. 

Comrade  Wade  H.  Manning  offered  a  resolution  that  the  papers 
throughout  South  Carolina  request  members  of  the  First,  Second, 
Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Cavalry  to  send  to  Comrade  U.  R. 
Brooks,  historian,  at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  their  names  and  postoffice 
addresses  at  the  earliest  date  possible.  The  resolution  was 
adopted. 

The  survivors  present  at  this  meeting  were  as  follows:  Maj. 
Gen.  M.  C.  Butler,  Col.  T.  J.  Lipscomb,  2nd  S.  C.  Cavalry;  E.  A. 
Bethea,  Co.  I,  6th  S.  C.  Cavalry;  N.  B.  Eison,  Co.  K,  5th  S.  C. 
Cavalry;  J.  Newton  Fowles,  Co.  I,  2nd  S.  C.  Cavalry;  J.  W. 
Quarles,  Co.  I,  2nd  S.  C.  Cavalry;  J.  G.  Graham,  Co.  C,  2nd  S.  C. 
Cavalry;  T.  H.  Dick,  Co.  A,  2nd  S.  C.  Cavalry;  J.  P.  Rawls,  Co. 

C,  2nd  S.  C.  Cavalry;  Chas.  M.  Calhoun,  Co.  C,  6th  S.  C,  Cavalry; 
John  T.  Langston,  Co.  B,  1st  S.  C.  Cavalry;  S.  T.  McKeown,  Co. 
K,  1st  S.  C.  Cavalry;  W.  W.  Miller,  Co."  C,  1st  S.  C.  Cavalry ; 
U.  R.  Brooks,  Co.  B,  6th  S.  C.  Cavalry;  Wade  Hampton  Man 
ning,  Co.  K,   (Charleston  Light  Dragoons)   4th  S.  C.  Cavalry; 
H.  W.  Richardson,  Co.  K,  4th  S.  C.  Cavalry;  G.  M.  Cordes,  Co. 

D,  4th  S.  C.  Cavalry;  J.  H.  Blackwell,  Co.  A,  2nd  S.  C.  Cavalry; 
J.  C.  Blackwell,  Co.  A,  2nd  S.  C.  Cavalry;  E.  Lide  Law,  Co.  I, 
6th  S.  C.  Cavalry;  T.  G.  Douglass,  Co.  C,  6th  S.  C,  Cavalry. 


14  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

During  the  session  of  the  old  brigade  Mrs.  M.  C.  Robertson,  a 
daughter  of  Col.  Hugh  K.  Aiken,  was  presented  to  the  survivors 
by  Gen.  M.  C.  Butler. 

The  members  deeply  regretted  the  absence  o«£  Mrs.  Hugh  K. 
Aiken,  who  is  now  in  the  city,  and  by  a  unanimous  vote  Mrs. 
Aiken  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Association. 

There  being  no  further  business,  the  meeting  adjourned  subject 
to  the  call  of  the  chair. 

WADE  HAMPTON  MANNING,  Secretary. 

Wednesday,  October  25th,  1905. 


GENERAL  M.   C.   BUTLEK 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  17 


BUTLER'S  CAVALRY 

"Eternal  right  though  all  things  fail 
Can  never  be  made  wrong." 

•'Cheerful  and  merciful  in  victory,  hopeful  even  in  defeat,  they 
rode  to  death  dauntlessly  and  won  many  a  field.  Equaled  by 
some,  surpassed  by  none." 

The  cavalryman's  life  was  one  of  constant  danger,  sleepless 
vigil,  unending  fatigue,  and  ceaseless  activity.  He  did  not  flood 
the  soil  with  offerings  of  his  blood  on  the  great  battlefields  of  the 
war,  but  day  by  day  and  night  by  night,  in  the  skirmish,  in  the 
picket  charge,  in  the  wild  dash  and  on  the  long  raid  he  hourly 
laid  down  his  all  a  sacrifice  for  the  common  cause,  and  when,  at 
the  end  of  the  war,  he  called  the  roll  and  the  troops  rode  out  for 
review,  the  shattered  ranks,  the  star  which  betokened  death, 
showed  a  mortality  none  the  less  dreadful  than  among  the  men 
who  walked  in  their  marches  and  who  on  great  occasions  made 
great  sacrifices  at  war's  demand. 

Let  us  now  describe  briefly  some  events  which  are  in  the  highest 
degree  typical  of  what  the  war  demands  of  the  cavalrymen. 

Survivors  of  the  First,  Second,  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth 
Cavalry,  who  rode  by  Butler's  side,  have  you  forgotten  the  9th, 
10th,  llth  and  12th  of  October,  1862,  when  you  forded  the 
Potomac  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  at  early  dawn  and  proceeded 
to  Mercersburg  and  thence  to  Chambersburg,  and  how  you  housed 
yourselves  in  the  quiet  and  quaint  old  town,  well  up  in  the  boun 
daries  of  the  Quaker  State?  Twenty  hours  and  eighty-one  miles, 
No  sleep ;  no  rest ;  galloping,  fighting,  scouting  and  ready  to  assail 
any  enemy,  with  human  endurance  tested  to  the  greatest  possible 
limit. 

Have  you  forgotten  the  9th  of  June,  1863,  at  Brandy  Station, 
where  the  gallant  Col.  Frank  Hampton  was  killed  and  Butler  lost 
his  leg  ?  Have  you  forgotten  Gettysburg,  on  the  2nd  day  of  July, 
when  General  Hampton  was  so  badly  wounded  by  the  sabres  of 
the  enemy?  Have  you  forgotten  the  28th  of  May,  1864,  at  Hawe's 
Shop,  30th  May,  1864,  at  Cold  Harbor,  and  the  3rd  of  June,  1864, 
at  Second  Cold  Harbor,  where  Grant  lost  thirteen  thousand  men 

2— B.  c. 


18  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

in  one  hour  ?  Have  you  forgotten  the  hard  fighting  at  Trevillian 
on  the  llth  and  12th  of  June,  1864,  where  Butler's  Division,  con 
sisting  of  2,224  men,  fought  and  routed  Sheridan  with  ten  thou 
sand  of  the  best  equipped  cavalry  that  ever  drew  sabre;  and  the 
28th  of  June  at  Sappony  Church,  where  Butler  took  one  hundred 
men  and  surprised  and  routed  Wilson  with  three  thousand  fresh 
troops ;  and  how  you  were  in  the  saddle  for  twenty-one  days  and 
nights,  and  how  you  fought  at  Lee's  Mill?  Have  you  forgotten 
the  23rd  of  August,  at  Monck  Neck  Bridge,  and  Ream's  Station 
25th  of  August,  where  the  sabre  and  bayonet  shook  hands  on  the 
enemy's  breastworks  and  Butler  won  his  spurs  as  Major-General, 
and  on  the  16th  September  at  City  Point  you  helped  to  capture 
all  of  Grant's  cattle;  and  the  battle  of  the  1st  day  of  October, 
McDowells  Farm,  where  General  John  Dunnovant  was  killed 
leading  the  charge ;  and  the  Battle  of  Burgesse's  Mill,  27th  Octo 
ber,  1864;  and  Warren's  raid  to  Stoney  Creek,  and  from  thence 
to  Columbia  in  January,  1865,  and  how  we  harassed  Sherman's 
Army;  and  the  surprise  on  Kilpatrick's  camp,  10th  March,  near 
Fayetteville ;  and  the  Battle  of  Averysboro  and  Bentonville,  N.  C. 

"Fate  denied  us  victory,  but  it  crowned  us  wTith  a  glorious 
immortality." 

Shall  we  preserve  the  history  that  we  made  or  not?  The  best 
way  to  keep  the  record  straight  is  by  Companies  and  Regiments. 
Will  you,  comrades,  write  what  you  remember  of  our  glorious 
cause  and  forward  this  information  to  me,  as  your  historian,  to  be 
handed  down  to  future  generations  ?  Tell  us  of  the  days  when  all 
was  lost.  There  were  those  even  in  such  an  hour  who  made  decla 
ration  of  their  constancy  and  devotion  to  that  cause  to  which  they 
had  already  sacrificed  their  fortunes,  and  now  anew  tendered 
their  lives.  And  the  history  of  that  moment  glorifies  the  manly 
courage  and  gives  those  who  participated  in  it  a  place  in  the 
brightest  pages  which  perpetuate  human  heroism. 

Butler's  Cavalry  was  easily  distinguished  from  other  com 
mands.  They  rode  with  military  primness  and  were  mounted  on 
steeds  of  delicately-shaped  limbs,  with  glistening  eyes  and  full  of 
fire  and  motion.  At  their  head  rode  M.  C.  Butler,  then  in  the  full 
bloom  of  manhood  and  looking  every  inch  the  soldier  that  he  was 
by  nature. 

Fraternally, 

U.  R.  BROOKS. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  19 


THE  WAR  HORSE  SNIFFS  THE  BATTLE  AFAR  OFF 

Every  man  who  served  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
remembers  "Old  Traveler,''  General  Lee's  famous  war  horse,  and 
all  the  soldiers  who  fought  under  Stonewall  Jackson  never  can 
forget  "Old  Sorrel,"  which  was  the  only  horse  the  great  flanker 
rode  during  the  War  of  Secession.  He  rode  "Old  Sorrel"  to  the 
very  death.  Where  is  the  cavalryman  who  followed  Wade  Hamp 
ton  that  has  forgotten  his  beautiful  charger  ''Butler"?  It  was 
with  this  horse  that  General  Hampton  made  the  charges  at 
Gettysburg  and  Trevillian  Station. 

General  Butler  could  not  keep  a  horse  long  at  a  time,  because 
nearly  every  fight  that  he  led  his  cavalry  into  his  horse  was  shot. 
I  am  confident  that  he  had  more  horses  shot  under  him  than  any 
general  in  Lee's  Army.  He  had  some  splendid  mounts,  but  the 
Yankees  took  great  pleasure  in  shooting  them. 

Jack  Shoolbred  loved  his  beautiful  horse  "Don"  almost  as 
much  as  Prioleau  Henderson  was  devoted  to  his  admirable  little 
gray  "Arab"  that  he  rode  through  the  war  in  Butler's  Cavalry. 
General  Hampton  rode  him  in  1876  at  Green  Pond.  *  "Arab" 
lived  to  be  twenty-seven  years  old. 

Job  says:  "Hast  thou  given  the  horse  strength;  hast  thou 
clothed  his  neck  with  thunder;  canst  thou  make  him  afraid  as  a 
grasshopper?  The  glory  of  his  nostrils  is  terrible.  He  paweth 
in  the  valley  and  rejoiceth  in  his  strength.  He  smelleth  the  battle 
afar  off,  the  thunder  and  the  captains  and  the  shouting."  Job 
goes  on  to  say,  "the  snorting  of  his  horses  was  heard  from  Dan; 
the  whole  land  trembled  at  the  sound  of  the  neighing  of  his  strong 
ones."  Wherever  the  horse  is  introduced  into  Biblical  history, 
it  is  readily  seen  that  he  is  second  only  to  the  pretty  woman  in 
the  estimation  of  man.  It  is  only  in  these  cold,  selfish,  grasping, 
mercenary  generations  that  the  horse  is  sacrificed  upon  the  altar 
of  cruelty  and  greed  with  as  little  regard  for  his  comfort  and 
sensibilities  as  though  he  was  a  piece  of  inanimate  machinery. 
Drive  him,  starve  him,  lash  him,  spur  him,  kill  him,  he  is  nothing 
but  a  horse.  Some  are  guilty  of  this  bad  treatment  to  this,  the 


20  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

noblest  of  animals,  through  ignorance,  and  some  through  unadul 
terated  "cussedness." 

The  trough  from  which  the  horse  takes  his  feed  should  not  be 
raised  higher  than  his  knees,  because  the  muscles  of  his  throat 
are  so  constructed  that  he  swallows  with  difficulty  when  his  head 
is  elevated.  When  you  water  your  horse  from  a  bucket,  don't 
hold  it  up  to  him,  but  put  it  on  the  ground.  If  you  hold  it  up 
high  he  makes  a  noise  in  drinking  and  his  ears  jerk  every  time  he 
swallows  because  of  the  spasmodic  action  of  the  muscles  of  deglu 
tition. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  21 


GENERAL  BUTLER'S  LAST  WAR  HORSE 

At  a  meeting  of  "The  Empire  State  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution,"  held  in  the  city  of  New  York  on  June  3, 
1898,  Vice-President  John  C.  Calhoun  presiding,  the  following 
action  was  taken : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Society  are  hereby  extended  to  Com 
patriot  William  McKinley,  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the  patriotic 
action  and  discernment  which  he  has  manifested  in  appointing  Matthew  C. 
Butler,  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  to  be  a  Major-General  in  the  United 
States  Army,  Volunteer  service,  and  Frederick  Dent  Grant,  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  to  be  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  United  States  Army,  Volunteer 
service. 

Resolved,  That  this  Society  directs  that  a  horse,  with  appropriate  accou 
trements  for  army  service,  be  presented  to  Major-General  Matthew  C.  But 
ler,  and  that  a  sword,  with  appropriate  belongings,  be  presented  to  Briga 
dier-General  Frederick  Dent  Grant. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee,  consisting  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  Edward  Pay- 
son  Cone,  James  Marcus  King,  Thomas  Wilson,  and  Horatio  C.  King,  be 
appointed  to  carry  out  the  action  here  ordered,  and  that  the  Treasurer  of 
the  Society  be  instructed  to  honor  the  draft  of  the  committee  for  the 
requisite  amount  of  funds. 

Resolved,  That  the  "Empire  State  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution,"  a  purely  patriotic  Society,  with  membership  based  on  lineal 
descent  from  the  participants  in  the  American  Revolution,  and  among 
whose  objects  are  "the  fostering  of  patriotism,  maintaining  and  extending 
the  institutions  of  American  freedom,"  takes  this  action  for  the  purpose  of 
recognizing  and  expressing  its  gratitude  for  the  unmistakable  evidences 
that  sectionalism  is  at  an  end  under  the  government  our  fathers  founded, 
and  that  we  are  an  undivided  nation  facing  a  foreign  foe,  with  a  common 
patriotism  uniting  all  our  hearts  as  citizens  of  the  great  American  Repub 
lic. 

Resolved,  That  engrossed  copies  of  this  action,  signed  by  the  committee, 
be  presented  to  President  McKinley,  to  Major-General  Butler  and  to  Briga 
dier-General  Grant. 

JOHN    C.    CALHOUN,    Chairman, 
EDW.  PAY  SON  CONE, 
JAMES  MARCUS  KING, 
THOMAS  WILSON, 
HORATIO  KING, 

Committee. 

New  York  City,  N.  Y.,  June  3,  1808. 


22  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Presentation  to  General  Butler 

"General  Butler  was  presented  with  a  horse  and  accoutrements 
at  five  o'clock  yesterday  afternoon,  5  July,  1898,  by  a  committee 
from  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution.  At  thg  same  time  the 
committee,  through  a  letter,  presented  General  Grant,  at  Chick- 
amauga,  with  a  sword  and  belt.  Previous  to  either  of  the  pre 
sentations,  President  McKinley  was  presented  by  the  same 
commitee  with  a  set  of  resolutions  bound  in  morocco.  The  pre 
sentation  address  was  made  by  Rev.  James  M.  King.  He  said : 

"  'Major- General  Butler:  I  am  honored  by  a  commission  from 
the  members  of  the  Empire  State  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution  to  present  to  you  a  horse  with  accoutre 
ments  for  your  use  in  leading  such  forces  of  the  United  States  as 
shall  be  subject  to  your  command.  You  are  to  command  troops 
from  States  against  which  you  contended  in  past  years,  and 
among  them  will  be  found  the  sons  of  sires  whom  you  then  faced 
in  battle,  and  they  will  be  glad  to  follow  where  you  lead.  It  must 
be  a  gratificatoin  to  you  to  know  that  the  veterans  of  the  Civil 
War,  both  North  and  South,  approve  on  military  grounds  the 
fitness  of  your  appointment  as  Major-General  in  the  United  States 
volunteer  army.  The  press,  with  great  unanimity,  and  thoughtful 
citizens  with  entire  unanimity,  commend  the  President's  wisdom 
and  patriotism  in  selecting  you.  You  made  a  brilliant  and 
historic  military  record  in  the  Confederate  Army.  When  peace 
and  union  were  restored,  you  ably  represented  your  State  for 
many  years  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  You  are  of  a 
Revolutionary  lineage  that  founded  the  republic  and  fought  on 
sea  and  land  for  its  perpetuation.  You  bear  an  honored  name  in 
American  history  and  you  have  honored  the  name.  Your  fellow- 
citizens  recognize  the  skill,  valor  and  courage  which  won  for  you 
military  renown,  leaving  their  abiding  marks  upon  your  person, 
in  a  cause  in  which  you  believed,  and  now  gratefully  recognize 
the  patriotism  which  leads  you  to  loyally  place  that  tried  skill, 
valor,  and  courage  at  the  service  of  our  united  country  in  a  contest 
which  has  already  reconstructed  the  map  of  the  world,  in  the 
interests  of  civil  liberty  and  Christian  civilization.  When  at  the 
head  of  your  forces,  mounted  on  this  noble  charger,  you  enter 
battle,  remember  that  the  eyes  of  the  American  people  are  not 
only  upon  you,  but  their  hearts  are  with  you;  that  you  are  con- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  23 

tending  for  the  principles  for  which  your  Revolutionary  sires 
contended,  and  that  the  nations  of  the  entire  world  are  watching 
for  the  results  of  a  war  waged  by  this  republic,  now  mighty  in  its 
oneness  of  strength,  for  the  most  unselfish  purpose  which  ever 
stirred  the  heart  of  a  nation.  May  this  horse  carry  you  fearlessly 
in  battle  at  the  head  of  victorious  legions,  while  you  remember, 
and  we  remember  that  your  'safety  is  of  the  Lord'." 

Address  of  Major-General  M.  C.  Butler 

Dr.  King  and  Gentlemen  of  The  Empire  State  Society  of  the 
Sons  of  the  American  Revolution :  It  is  impossible  for  me  to 
convey  to  you  an  adequate  expression  of  my  profound  gratitude 
for  the  honor  you  do  me  today.  To  be  selected  by  a  society  of 
such  distinguished  citizens  for  so  conspicuous  a  testimonial  of 
your  approbation  and  good  will  is  a  compliment  to  be  cherished 
by  any  man. 

The  occasion,  the  environments,  the  day,  are  all  significant  of 
a  new  departure,  a  new  epoch  in  our  national  history, — not  that 
this  quiet,  informal  ceremony  is  itself  an  epoch,  but  an  incident 
of  a  gratifying  condition  in  our  national  life. 

Such  a  scene  as  this  could  not  occur  in  any  other  country  on 
earth.  In  casting  about  for  an  explanation,  I  think  it  is  to  be 
found  under  two  heads.  1st,  We  are  the  same  race  of  people; 
2nd,  We  are  brought  up  under  the  same  system  of  popular  gov 
ernment, — and  I  might  add  a  third, — we  are  a  people  of  emi 
nently  strong,  practical,  common  sense.  With  us  there  is  no 
question  of  Anglo-Saxon  or  Celt,  Teuton  or  Latin,  Slav  or  anti- 
Slav.  We  are  all  Americans,  and  have  always  been  devoted  to  the 
principles  of  a  constitutional  republic.  So  that  when  our  family 
quarrel  was  settled,  usually  the  most  bitter  of  all  quarrels,  we 
agreed  to  disagree,  and  each  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  for  the 
general  welfare  of  all  the  people  and  for  the  perpetuity  of  popular 
government,  after  eliminating,  in  blood  and  sorrow,  the  institu 
tion  of  slavery.  No  sensible  man  anywhere  wants  it  restored. 

Now  that  we  are  at  war  with  a  foreign  power,  provoked  by  a 
half  century  of  irritating  provocations  on  the  part  of  Spain, 
neither  one  of  which,  taken  singly,  would  be  a  fair  cause  of  war, 
but  taken  in  the  aggregate  left  no  other  alternative  for  us,  there 
is  no  difference  of  opinion  anywhere  in  this  great  family  of 


24  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

seventy  odd  millions  of  American  people.  We  are  all  of  one  mind 
as  to  the  general  policy,  differing,  perhaps,  as  we  have  a  right  to 
differ  under  this  free  government  of  ours,  as  to  details. 

It  is  proper  in  this  connection  that  I  should  say,  no  man  in  our 
generation  has  had  such  an  opportunity  to  driv*e  the  last  spike 
into  the  coffin  of  sectional  estrangement  and  cement  the  bonds  of 
national  fraternity  as  the  present  distinguished  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  United  States.  And  no  man  could  have  availed  himself 
of  that  opportunity  more  effectually.  Doing  all  that  he  could, 
like  a  man  of  sense,  and  a  patriotic  American  that  he  is,  with  the 
great  powers  of  his  office,  to  avert  hostilities  with  Spain,  he  has 
met  the  dire  alternative  with  a  firmness,  tact,  consideration  and 
respect  for  the  opinions  of  others  worthy  of  the  highest  praise. 
He  has  set  his  face  steadily  and  unflinchingly  to  the  maintenance 
of  our  national  honor  and  character,  and  deserves,  as  he  will 
receive,  the  cordial  support  of  the  American  people. 

But,  gentlemen,  I  am  about  to  be  betrayed  into  saying  much 
more  than  I  intended.  Never  in  our  history  have  the  American 
people  been  so  united  in  heart  and  purpose  as  they  are  today,  the 
one  hundred  and  twenty-second  anniversary  of  our  Independence. 
Let  us  re-subscribe  to  the  oath  of  allegiance  taken  by  our  fathers 
one  hundred  and  twenty-two  years  ago,  and  see  to  it  that  no  harm 
shall  come  to  our  constitutional  government. 

In  return  for  your  very  great  compliment  to  me,  I  can  only 
promise  to  perform  every  duty  that  may  devolve  upon  me,  if  not 
with  ability,  at  least  faithfully  and  conscientiously.  The  best  of 
us  can  do  no  more. 

I  can  safely  promise  for  the  splendid  body  of  American  soldiers 
in  tHis  camp,  that  Avhen  the  opportunity  presents  itself  they  will 
not  allow  themselves  to  be  /eclipsed  by  their  immortal  comrades 
who,  in  front  of  Santiago,  have  so  gloriously  sustained  the  char 
acter  of  the  American  soldier  for  courage,  dash  and  invincible 
audacity.  All  honor  to  their  splendid  bravery  and  heroism  !  We 
only  await  an  opportunity  to  emulate  their  glorious  example. 

Pardon  one  word  more.  With  that  go-ahead-ativeness,  don't- 
stop-to-count-the-costs  for  which  we  have  become  somewhat 
famous,  we  are  inclined  to  anticipate  events  and  jump  to  con 
clusions,  before  those  events  are  ripe  for  final  judgment.  We 
hear  an  occasional  wail  of  the  dangers  of  conquest,  imperialism, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  25 

militarism,  what  ought  to  be  done  with  this  territorial  acquisition 
and  all  that.  Let  us  possess  our  souls  in  patience,  with  the  well- 
grounded  assurance  that  all  these  questions  will  be  justly  settled 
when  we  reach  them,  settled  in  accordance  with  the  best  interests 
of  the  American  people,  without  regard  to  the  wishes  or  whims  or 
caprices  of  any  other  nation. 

The  cry  of  imperialism  has  no  terrors  for  me.  We  are  not 
made  of  the  stuff  that  tolerates  imperialism.  The  military  arm 
of  the  government  will  be  the  last  of  our  institutions  to  imperil 
popular  liberty  or  jeopardize  constitutional  government.  The 
military  is  held  subordinate  to  the  civil  power,  and  will  continue 
so  until  the  civil  power  is  sapped  and  mined  by  demoralization. 
TTe  can  only  do  our  duty  under  the  constitution  and  laws  as 
soldiers,  at  the  same  time  holding  on  to  our  rights  and  duties  as 
citizens  of  a  free  republic. 

Gentlemen,  I  accept  this  superb  horse  and  splendid  trappings 
with  a  sense  of  my  deepest  gratitude  and  with  the  solemn  promise 
that  I  shall  endeavor  always  to  keep  his  head  to  the  front,  in  the 
direction  of  the  national  honor  and  welfare.  To  you,  individually 
and  collectively,  I  extend  my  most  cordial  obeisance  and  respect. 


26  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


GENERAL  WILLIAM  BUTLER 

(By  T.  P.  Slider,  A.  D.  187T.)   * 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  in  Prince  William  county, 
Va.,  in  1759.  His  father,  Captain  James  Butler,  emigrated  with 
his  family  to  South  Carolina,  and  settled  in  what  was  called  then, 
the  District  of  "96,"  a  few  years  before  the  opening  of  the  Revo 
lution.  The  circumstances  of  the  times,  pregnant  then  with  the 
seeds  of  revolution,  were  such  that  every  loyal-minded  Whig  was 
deeply  interested  in  the  affairs  of  the  colonies.  To  doubt  and 
waver  was  characteristic  of  the  Tories.  Captain  Butler  and  his 
four  sons  were  true  patriots,  imbued  wTith  the  principle  that- 
come  what  would — they  wrould  battle  for  the  rights  of  the  colonies 
to  the  death.  The  times  grew  warmer  and  warmer  politically, 
and  they  prepared  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  scenes  that  were 
approaching.  Actuated  by  a  desire  to  put  his  house  in  order 
before  the  fury  of  the  storm  was  upon  him,  he  commenced  to 
arange  his  domestic  affairs;  but  before  he  had  completed  his 
arrangements,  he  was  earnestly  called  upon  to  engage  in  the 
public  concerns  of  the  country.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation, 
he  entered  cheerfully  in  the  snow-camp  expedition  under  General 
Richardson.  After  this,  he  was  with  General  Williamson  in  his 
expedition  against  the  Cherokee  Indians  in  1779. 

When  the  conflict  which  had  been  raging  in  the  North  was 
transferred  by  a  new  movement,  as  a  change  of  base  in  warlike 
operations,  of  from  North  to  South,  the  war  may  be  said  to  have 
been  inverted.  Then  it  was  the  North  was  abandoned  by  the 
British  for  a  time,  and  South  Carolina  and  the  adjacent  settle 
ments  became  the  principal  theatre  of  offensive  operations.  Upon 
the  call  for  General  Lincoln,  who  had  been  placed  in  command  of 
the  Southern  forces,  Captain  Butler  repaired  at  once  to  head 
quarters,  which  was  located  near  Augusta,  Ga.  Unfortunately  he 
was  taken  sick,  and  became  unable  to  follow  the  army  in  the  sub 
sequent  campaign.  From  this  period  few  events  of  revolutionary 
interest  occurred  in  the  upper  districts  of  the  State  until  after  the 
fall  of  Charleston.  The  capitulation  of  the  forces  in  the  city,  and 
the  dispersion  or  retreat  of  the  small  detached  corps  which  had 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  27 

kept  the  field  during  the  siege,  was  regarded  by  the  royal  com 
mander  as  a  restoration  of  British  authority,  and  both  civil  and 
military  organizations  were  arranged  to  maintain  it.  The  inhab 
itants  of  the  State  were  called  upon  to  swear  allegiance  to  British 
authority  and  take  British  protection.  The  village  of  Ninety- Six 
was  designated  as  a  place  for  the  citizens  of  the  surrounding 
country  to  appear  at  for  this  purpose.  The  proclamation  was  con 
sidered  delusive,  and  many  persons  appeared  on  the  specified  day 
without  fully  understanding  its  import.  Among  them  was  Cap 
tain  James  Butler,  who,  when  informed  of  what  was  demanded 
of  him,  positively  refused  to  conform  to  the  terms  of  the  procla 
mation.  The  British  officer  in  command  immediately  put  him  in 
irons  and  threw  him  in  Ninety-Six  jail,  from  whence  he  was 
transferred  to  Charleston,  where  he  was  confined  in  the  "provost" 
for  eighteen  months.  Upon  his  release  from  this  severe  and 
lengthened  imprisonment,  which  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of 
December,  1781,  he  returned  once  more  to  his  home,  where  he 
remained  about  three  weeks;  when  he  was  called  on  to  seal  with 
his  life  his  devotion  to  the  cause,  for  Avhich  he  had  already  suf 
fered  so  much.  The  incidents  of  the  bloody  tragedy  in  which  he 
died  can  be  paralleled  only  in  the  annals  of  civil  strife. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  contest  with  the  mother  country,  a 
difference  of  opinion  had  existed  in  the  State  upon  the  subject. 
South  Carolina  had  been  a  province  of  the  Crown.  The  griev 
ances  complained  of  by  the  commercial  colonies  were  unfelt  by 
her.  The  Tories,  or  scouilites,  insisted  that  the  King  had  laid  no 
new  burdens  or  taxes  on  the  people,  and  that,  therefore,  their 
opposition  to  the  royal  government  was  groundless.  The  act  as 
it  respected  South  Carolina  was  true,  but  the  conclusion  drawn 
from  it  did  not  follow.  No  new  burdens  had  been  laid  on  the 
inhabitants  of  the  province  of  Carolina,  but  the  most  grievous 
had  been  laid  on  Massachusetts,  in  pursuance  of  principles  which 
equally  applied  to  Carolina,  and  struck  at  the  foundation  of  her 
boasted  rights.  The  fact  is,  a  strong  conservative  feeling  per 
vaded  a  large  class  of  her  people.  This  feeling  was  strongest  in 
the  up-country.  There  the  inhabitants  took  arms  from  the  begin 
ning.  Upon  both  sides  of  the  question  there  were  to  be  found 
rash,  hard-headed,  impulsive,  ignorant,  prejudiced  men,  and  the 
contest  became  fierce,  merciless  and  bloody.  Outrage  and 


28  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

tyranny,  producing  reprisals,  assumed  a  savage,  guerrilla  char 
acter,  in  which  says  General  Greene:  "The  inhabitants  pursued 
each  other  like  wild  beasts,  killing  each  other,  robbing  each  other 
without  regard  to  age,  condition  or  sex,  as  well  as  plundering  and 
firing  barns,  houses  and  whatever  came  to  hand.'' 

A  marauding  party  of  royalists  made  an  incursion  into  the 
neighborhood  of  Mount  Willing,  in  Edgefield  District,  near  which 
Captain  Butler  lived,  carrying  off  considerable  booty.  The  result 
was,  a  band  of  Whigs  was  formed  immediately  for  the  pursuit 
and  punishment  of  the  bandits.  Captain  Butler  was  called  upon 
to  take  command  of  the  party.  At  first  he  positively  refused  to 
do  so,  alleging  that  the  hardships  and  sufferings  he  had  endured 
in  prison  had  rendered  him  at  that  time  utterly  unfit  to  take 
charge  of  such  an  expedition,  and  therefore  should  exempt  him 
from  the  undertaking. 

The  majority  of  the  men  excused  him  on  these  grounds,  but  his 
son,  James  Butler,  one  of  the  party,  refused  to  continue  with  the 
expedition,  unless  his  father  assumed  the  command.  Captain 
Butler  yielded  to  the  appeal  of  his  son,  and  consented  to  go  at  his 
request,  but  simply  as  an  adviser ;  the  active  command  being  in  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Turner.  Pursuit  being  instituted,  the  Roy 
alists  were  overtaken,  defeated  and  dispersed  at  Farrar's  Spring, 
in  Lexington  District,  S.  C.,  and  the  horses  and  cattle,  which  they 
had  captured,  recaptured.  On  their  return  with  the  captured 
booty,  being  highly  exhilarated  with  their  success,  and  rendered 
more  particularly  so  by  an  improper  use  of  peach  brandy,  which 
they  had  captured  in  the  fight,  they  concluded  to  stop  at  a  place 
on  Cloud's  Creek  for  the  night  and  encamp,  notwithstanding  the 
appeals  and  urgent  remonstrances  of  Captain  Butler,  who  insisted 
on  moving  forward  all  night.  Finding  his  advice  disregarded  as 
to  advancing,  he  counseled  the  necessity  of  the  ordinary  military 
precautions  against  surprise,  of  placing  out  sentinels,  but  they 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  advice.  They  were  mostly  young  men,  of 
but  little  experience,  yet  confident,  as  youth  is,  and  then  the 
worst  of  it,  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  Their  success  and 
indulgence  had  rendered  them  overweeningly  reckless,  conceited 
and  careless,  just  as  we  find  them  today.  It  was  not  known  then 
exactly  who  were  the  Loyalists,  as  they  were  sometimes  called, 
they  had  pursued  and  whom  they  had  discomfited;  but  the  next 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  29 

morning  demonstrated  the  wisdom  and  sagacity  of  the  advice 
given  by  the  gray-headed  counselor,  Captain  Butler.  They 
proved  to  have  been  a  detached  party  connected  with  a  larger 
band,  for  about  sunrise  this  band,  amounting  to  some  three  hun 
dred  men,  guided  by  some  of  the  escaped,  discomfited  party,  under 
the  lead,  too,  of  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  skillful  partisans  of 
the  Royal  side,  yet  sanguinary,  vindictive,  relentless,  and  unfor 
giving,  to-wit:  Bloody  Bill  Cunningham,  was  seen  approaching, 
who  at  once  attacked  the  camp.  Taken  almost  by  surprise,  and 
by  this  time  to  a  certain  degree  disorganized,  the  little  squad  of 
imprudent  Whigs,  about  thirty  in  number,  nevertheless  rallied  for 
a  moment  and  took  refuge  in  an  unfinished  log  house  without 
doors  or  windows.  In  the  meantime  the  house  was  surrounded  by 
Cunningham's  men  when  firing  commenced.  After  a  few 
moments  of  rapid  discharges,  a  demand  of  surrender  peremptorily 
was  made.  Its  terms  were  inquired  of  by  the  Whigs,  and  the 
response  was  of  the  Tory  leader,  "they  were  unconditional,"  but 
that  he  would  receive  a  communication  from  them.  Upon  this 
Smallwood  Smith,  one  of  the  party,  was  selected  to  perform  the 
duty.  Upon  presenting  himself,  Cunningham's  first  inquiry  was, 
"Who  are  of  your  party?" 

Upon  learning  that  young  James  Butler,  the  son  of  Captain 
Butler,  who  had  been  engaged  in  an  affair  in  which  one  Radcliff, 
a  noted  Tory,  was  killed,  was  among  them,  he  determined  at  once 
to  give  no  terms  that  would  exempt  this  young  man  from  his 
vengeance.  Cunningham  was  well  acqainted  with  the  father, 
having  served  with  him  in  the  expedition  against  the  Indians,  to 
which  allusion  has  already  been  made.  It  is  said  that  Cunning 
ham  had  rather  a  strong  liking  and  partiality  for  him,  and  would 
have  entertained  terms  of  friendly  capitulation  with  the  party 
had  it  not  been  for  the  presence  of  the  son.  Captain  James  But 
ler  sent  Cunningham  a  message  that  if  he  would  spare  the  life  of 
his  son,  he  would  make  an  unconditional  surrender  of  himself. 
Young  Butler,  however,  learning  Cunningham's  animosity  to 
himself,  and  entertaining  the  impression  that  his  father  and  him 
self  would  be  sacrificed  in  the  event  of  any  surrender,  determined 
to  run  all  hazards  of  a  contest  of  arms,  and  fearlessly  informed 
his  father  that  he  would  settle  the  terms  of  capitulation.  So  on 
the  first  opportunity  that  presented  itself,  he  commenced  the  com- 


30  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

bat  anew  by  killing  a  Tory  by  the  name  of  Stewart.  It  is  said 
that  negotiations  had  been  entered  into  to  save  the  officers  and 
sacrifice  the  privates ;  but  be  this  as  it  may,  this  demonstration  of 
courage  concluded  the  parley,  and  young  Butler  (but  nineteen 
years  of  age,)  received  a  mortal  wound  in  the  fferce  conflict  that 
folloAved,  while  kneeling  to  pick  his  flint  for  a  discharge.  The 
gallant  but  expiring  boy  called  his  father,  who  had  come  upon 
the  expedition  at  his  request,  unarmed,  simply  as  a  counselor,  to 
his  side,  handed  him  his  rifle  and  told  him  there  were  yet  a  few 
bullets  in  his  pouch  and  to  revenge  his  death.  The  father  took 
the  gun  and  discharged  it  against  the  enemy  until  the  ammunition 
was  expended.  The  death  of  young  Butler  produced  a  panic  in 
the  little  party,  contending  against  such  hopeless  odds,  and  the 
result  was  unconditional  surrender.  After  a  formal  meeting  and 
consultation  of  the  officers  of  the  Tory  squad,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  bloodthirtsy  and  execrable  chieftain  Cunningham,  the 
terrific  order  was  issued  to  put  them  all  to  the  unsparing  sword 
of  retaliation  and  revenge.  Two  of  the  number  managed  to 
escape;  the  balance  were  shot  down  and  slaughtered  where  they 
stood.  Captain  James  Butler  caught  up  a  pitchfork  that  was 
lying  around  and  defended  himself  until  his  right  hand  was 
severed  by  a  sabre  stroke,  and  his  life  ended  by  a  rifle  ball.  The 
tragedy  did  not  cease  here.  A  detachment  of  the  Tories  under  the 
command  of  Prescott,  a  subordinate  leader,  was  left  to  meet  any 
burying  party  that  might  be  sent  to  inter  the  bodies  of  the 
mangled  victims,  and  especially  to  meet  the  subject  of  our 
memoir,  then  a  Captain  of  Rangers,  who  it  was  expected  would 
hasten  to  the  spot.  But  William  Butler  was  too  far  from  the  sad 
locality  to  be  present  even  at  the  funeral  ceremonies. 

In  those  days,  when  population  was  sparse  and  when  the  pas 
sions  of  men,  like  as  today,  embittered  by  fierce  political  strife, 
swelled  to  uncontrollable  heights,  smothering  every  kindly  feel 
ing  and  engendering  hate  and  animosity  of  the  most  malignant 
nature,  it  seemed  utterly  impossible  for  them  to  act  upon  the 
principles  of  mercy,  love  and  charity.  Under  the  circumstances 
and  excitement  of  the  times,  it  would  have  been  madness  and 
sheer  folly  for  the  Whigs,  unless  strongly  supported,  to  have 
undertaken  the  burial  of  their  dead  without  an  agreement.  In 
this  crisis,  when  headstrong  passion  got  the  reins  of  reason,  like  a 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  31 

ship  dashed  by  fierce  encountering  tides  becomes  the  sport  of  wind 
and  wave,  and  there  seemed  no  prospect  or  way  of  coming  to  any 
terms;  for  the  Tories  were  relentless  and  determined,  and  the 
Whigs  powerless  to  act,  there  appeared  on  the  arena  of  strife  a 
new  actor;  one  who  has  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  history  of 
the  world ;  in  the  plucking  of  an  apple  in  the  Garden  of  Eden ; 
the  mothership  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  appropriation  of  gorgeous 
jewelry  when  kings  refused  to  act;  thereby  aiding  to  develop  and 
lay  open  to  view  by  degrees  along  the  shores  of  the  unremitting 
stream  of  the  centuries,  that  have  glided  into  the  present  in  the 
universe  of  God,  for  the  benefit  of  man — a  new  continent  and  a 
new  world  that  stands  today  at  the  head  of  nations.  This  actor 
was  woman.  Aye!  it  was  woman  who  stepped  between  the 
combatants  and  advanced  with  more  than  Spartan  courage  and 
devotion  to  perform  the  rites  of  interment.  It  was  woman  with 
her  wisdom  who  carried  and  decided  the  difficulty.  Souls  know 
no  difference  of  sexes ;  though  man  may  be  said  to  be  the  lord,  it 
does  not  follow  he  has  the  monopoly  of  brain  or  courage  or 
patriotism.  Many  a  masculine  heart  and  more  than  masculine 
has  been  found  in  a  female  breast ;  nor  is  the  treasure  of  wisdom, 
or  any  of  the  nobler  characteristics,  the  less  valuable  for  being 
lodged  in  the  weaker  vessel.  Truthfully  has  the  poet  said 

"  'Tis  woman's  band  that  smooths  affliction's  bed, 
Wipes  the  cold  sweat  and  stays  the  sinking  head." 

Sages  may  teach,  poets  may  sing,  and  philosophers  reason,  but 
nature  made  woman  to  temper  man.  Without  her  man  would 
have  been  a  brute — a  savage — influenced  by  passions  and  appe 
tites,  living  serpents  that  would  have  wound  like  the  gorgons 
round  him;  strangling  those  virtues  which  constitute  his  hap 
piness  and  cheers  him  on  to  a  happier  shore.  In  the  darkest  hour 
of  man's  earthly  ills,  her  affection  and  her  courage  rises  and  glows 

"Throbs  with  each  pulse,  and  beats  with  every  thrill." 

Mrs.  Sarah  Smith,  a  sister  of  Captain  James  Butler,  the  father, 
(whose  wife  at  this  time  was  confined  to  her  bed)  with  a  number 
of  other  ladies,  wives,  mothers  and  sisters  of  the  dead,  hastened 
to  the  bloody  scene  to  engage  in  their  burial;  Captain  Butler's 


32  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

body  was  recognized  by  his  severed  hand.  The  mangled  and 
unmercifully  beaten  bodies  of  the  rest  were  so  disfigured  that  it 
was  impossible  to  recognize  them.  However,  young  Butler  was 
supposed  to  be  identified  by  his  female  relatives  present.  To  the 
honor  of  the  women  present  be  it  said,  that  with*  spade  and  hoe 
in  hand  they  set  to  work,  dug  the  trench  and  consiged  to  their 
resting-place  the  bodies  of  the  murdered  Whigs,  save  Captain 
Butler  and  his  son,  who  were  placed  in  a  separate  grave,  prepared 
by  his  sister  and  relatives,  which  was  marked  at  the  time,  and 
over  which,  in  after  years,  was  reared  an  humble  monument,  the 
tribute  of  filial  piety. 

"And  though  the  mound  that  mark'd  their  names, 

Beneath  the  wings  of  time, 
Has  worn  away !    Their's  is  the  fame 

Immortal  and  sublime, 
For  who  can  tread  on  Freedom's  plain 

Nor  wake  her  dead  to  life  again." 

It  was  about  the  time  of  this  sad  event  that  General  Lincoln 
issued  a  proclamation  from  his  camp  at  Black's  Swamp,  near 
Augusta,  that  William  Butler,  the  subject  of  this  memoir, 
repaired  to  his  standard  as  lieutenant  of  militia.  The  American 
leader's  purpose  was  with  the  view,  Ramsay  says,  of  limiting  the 
British  to  the  sea  coast  of  Georgia,  as  well  as  of  its  reclamation. 
Leaving  a  corps  of  observation  at  Purysburg,  under  Moultrie,  he 
marched  with  the  main  army  up  the  Savannah  river,  that  he 
might  impart  confidence  to  the  country,  and  crossed  high  up ;  but 
he  had  scarcely  done  so,  when  his  sagacious  adversary,  Prevost, 
availing  himself  of  the  critical  time,  and  finding  his  way  open 
to  Charleston,  made  a  brilliant  dash  for  the  capture  of  that  city, 
and  had  nearly  succeeded.  When  Prevost  crossed  the  Savannah 
river,  Charleston  was  almost  wholly  defenceless.  Such  a  move  as 
an  invasion  on  the  land  side  was  unexpected.  Lincoln,  nevertheless? 
Prevost's  move,  pursued  his  original  intention,  from  an  idea  that 
Prevost  meant  nothing  more  than  to  divert  him  from  his  intended 
operations  in  Georgia,  by  a  feint  of  attempting  the  capital  of 
South  Carolina.  In  the  meantime  Moultrie  threw  himself  in  his 
path,  met  him  at  Willisling  and  Coosawhatchee,  and  by  a  defen 
sive,  masterly  retreat,  delayed  his  advance  until  field  works 
sufficient  to  withstand  an  assault  could  be  thrown  up  for  defence 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  33 

of  the  city.  During  these  events  Lincoln  hastily  marched  back 
from  the  interior  of  Georgia,  recrossed  the  Savannah  river,  and 
pushed  on  after  Prevost  with  hasty  strides,  while  Governor 
Kutledge,  with  600  militia  from  Orangeburg,  and  Colonel  Harris, 
with  300  Continental  troops  from  the  vicinity  of  Augusta,  were 
striving  to  get  ahead  of  Prevost  and  reinforce  Moultrie.  Having 
a  knowledge  of  these  things,  Prevost  advanced  to  Watson's,  about 
a  mile  from  the  lines.  As  the  garrison  were  unprepared  for  a 
siege,  they  stood  to  their  arms  all  night.  Presuming  that  Lin 
coln  was  close  behind  Prevost,  to  gain  time  for  his  coming  up, 
they  sent  a  message  to  Prevost,  requesting  to  know  on  what  terms 
a  capitulation  would  be  granted ;  this  was  a  ruse.  Whatever  was 
the  presumption  of  the  Whigs,  as  to  what  effect  this  trick  might 
have,  on  the  next  morning  Prevost  and  his  army  were  gone, 
retreating  by  way  of  the  islands,  to  Savannah.  The  militia  of 
the  up-country  were  then  discharged;  but  William  Butler,  who 
was  connected  with  the  detachment  engaged  in  the  action  at 
Stono,  remained  and  attached  himself  to  Pulaski's  legion,  in 
which  he  served  the  remainder  of  the  campaign  of  1779.  He  was 
with  the  gallant  Pole  until  his  death  at  the  siege  of  Savannah, 
and  always  spoke  of  him  as  a  bold,  dashing  dragoon  officer,  and 
complimented  his  memory  by  naming  one  of  his  grandsons  after 
him. 

During  the  captivity  of  his  father  in  Charleston,  already 
narrated,  all  the  responsibilities  of  family  obligations  devolved 
on  William  Butler.  It  was  at  this  time,  too,  the  time  immediately 
succeeding  the  fall  of  Charleston,  when  sprang  into  existence 
that  brilliant  roll  of  partisan  leaders — Marion,  Sumter,  Butler, 
Gandy,  the  Postells,  Benson,  Greene,  Conyers,  McCauley, 
McCottry,  Ryan,  Watson,  and  others  of  South  Carolina,  whose 
achievements  threw  such  a  halo  of  glory  and  gorgeous  chivalry 
over  the  war  in  the  South,  that— 

"The  tilt,  the  tournament,  the  vaulted  hall, 
Fades  in  its  glory  on  the  spirit's  eye, 
And  fancy's  bright  and  gay  creation — all 
Sinks  into  dust,  when  reason's  searching  glance 
Unmasks  the  age  of  Knighthood  and  romance." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Washington  appointed,  at  the 
request  of  Congress,  General  Greene  to  take  command  of  the 

3— B.  c. 


34  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

forces  in  the  Southern  District,  which  he  did  in  August,  1780. 
From  this  time  the  depression  and  gloominess,  which  had  settled 
like  a  funeral  pall  over  the  minds  of  many  of  the  people  upon 
the  fall  of  Charleston,  began  to  disappear,  until  it  was  entirely 
removed  from  public  sentiment,  and  South  Carolina  rose  like  a 
Phcenix  from  the  ashes  and  became  one  of  the  most  heroic  and 
warlike  colonies  of  the  Kevolutionary  league. 

General  Greene's  movements  on  Ninety-Six  is  a  matter  of  his 
tory.  At  that  time  William  Butler  was  serving  under  General 
Pierson  on  the  Carolina  side  of  the  Savannah  river  near  Augusta. 
He  was  present  at  the  siege  of  Augusta,  and  after  the  fall  of  that 
place,  having  been  detailed  by  General  Pickens  to  attend  Colonel 
Lee  to  Ninety- Six,  then  being  besieged  also,  he  had  the  honor  of 
being  present  at  the  interview  between  Greene  and  Lee,  in  which 
the  latter  suggested  the  attack  upon  the  stockade.  General  Butler 
always  expressed  himself  with  much  emphasis  when  speaking  of 
this  interview,  repeating  the  words  of  Lee,  "That  the  spring  must 
be  taken."  To  which  Greene  replied  by  saying,  "How  can  it  be 
done  without  a  general  assault?"  Lee  responded,  "Allow  me  to 
take  the  stockade  on  the  opposite  side,  and  my  guns  will  soon  drive 
them  from  the  water."  The  stockade  was  taken,  and  the  garrison 
deprived  of  the  use  of  the  spring.  An  operation  which  it  has 
been  contended  by  military  critics,  if  accomplished  at  a  certain 
period  of  the  siege,  would  have  resulted  in  the  fall  of  the  place 
before  it  could  have  been  relieved.  As  it  was,  Cruger,  command 
ing  the  garrison,  managed  to  prolong  his  defense  by  sinking  wells 
in  the  star  redoubt.  Terms  of  capitulation  had  been  proposed, 
which  Greene  refused,  believing  he  could  still  take  the  place  by 
pushing  the  sap  against  the  star  redoubt.  The  approach  of  Lord 
Rawdon  with  a  relieving  force  blasted  his  hopes.  A  corps  was 
detached  to  meet  Rawdon,  while  an  assault  upon  an  incomplete 
breach  was  hazarded.  Some  skirmishing  between  Rawdon's 
advance  guard  and  this  corps  took  place  near  Saluda  Old  Town, 
in  which  some  were  killed  and  several  wounded.  A  young  lieu 
tenant  from  Virginia,  by  the  name  of  Wade,  was  shot,  and  as  he 
fell  from  his  saddle,  for  he  wTas  mounted — with  a  genuine 
trooper's  care  for  his  steed — forgetting  himself — he  exclaimed  to 
his  comrades,  "Don't  let  my  horse,  boys,  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy."  Fortunately  there  was  a  settler  close  by,  by  the  name  of 
Sam  Savage,  to  whose  house  he  was  removed. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  35 

The  American  forces  fell  back,  and  marched  toward  the  Enoree 
river.  But  a  short  time  after  this  little  skirmish,  a  young  dragoon 
officer  who  was  in  pursuit  of  Greene,  with  a  white  plume  and  the 
cockade  of  the  Whigs  in  his  hat,  accompanied  by  an  orderly,  rode 
up  to  Savage's,  where  the  wounded  young  lieutenant  was  lying, 
made  inquiries,  and  learned  from  his  stepdaughter  in  the  house, 
who  had  just  returned  from  the  vicinity  of  Ninety-Six,  that  the 
siege  was  raised,  and  that  Greene's  forces  had  fallen  back  in  full 
retreat,  crossed  Saluda  at  the  Island  Ford,  with  Lee's  legion 
bringing  up  the  rear.  This  young  officer  was  Captain  William 
Butler,  and,  strange  to  say,  this  was  his  first  meeting  with  the 
lady,  whom  he  subsequently  married.  He  had  been  detached 
from  the  army  at  Ninety-Six  some  weeks  before,  upon  some  sepa 
rate  service  under  General  Henderson,  from  whom  he  derived  his 
commission  as  captain  in  1781.  He  determined  in  his  mind  at 
once  to  join  the  retreating  army,  and  being  told  that  two  strag 
glers  from  Rawdon's  command  were  down  in  Savage's  low 
grounds  taking  the  plantation  horses,  he  took  them  prisoners, 
and,  mounting  one  of  them  behind  himself  and  the  other  behind 
his  orderly,  swam  the  Saluda  river  near  what  is  now  called 
Bozeman's  Ferry,  and  joined  Lee  about  ten  miles  from  the  Island 
Ford  on  the  Newberry  side.  He  learned  from  the  prisoners  that 
Rawdon  had  pushed  forward  a  strong  light  corps,  embracing 
cavalry  and  infantry,  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Americans. 

When  William  Butler  came  up  with  Lee,  he  informed  him  of 
the  pursuit,  and  the  information  came  none  too  soon.  Lee  had 
halted  his  command,  and  Avas  lying  on  his  saddle  blanket,  making 
a  pillow  of  the  saddle.  His  prompt  direction  to  Armstrong,  one 
of  his  captains,  as  soon  as  he  received  the  information,  was, 
"Form  your  troop  in  the  rear  and  fight  w^hile  we  run."  The 
legion  was  barely  on  the  march  when  the  enemy  appeared,  but 
Armstrong  made  the  required  demonstration  with  such  gallantry 
and  confidence  that  the  enemy,  apprehending  an  engagement  with 
a  stronger  force,  paused  for  reinforcements,  and  Lee  was  enabled 
to  put  himself  in  closer  communication  with  the  main  body, 
wrhich  was  then  halted  at  Bush  Creek.  After  this  time,  William 
Butler  became  a  partisan,  sometimes  serving  as  second  in  com 
mand  under  Ryan,  and  sometimes  in  the  same  position  under 
Watson,  both  partisan  leaders  of  local  distinction.  At  a  subse- 


36  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

quent  period  he  raised  and  commanded  a  company  of  mounted 
rangers,  under  a  commission  from  General  Pierson,  confirmed  by 
the  Governor  of  the  State.  While  serving  under  Watson,  he  was 
engaged  in  an  expedition  against  a  band  of  Tories,  who  had 
organized  themselves  on  the  Edisto.  The  expedition  rendez 
voused  at  the  ridge  in  Edgefield  District.  Michael  Watson,  the 
leader,  was  a  determined,  resolute,  yet  revengeful  man,  and  con 
trolled  too  much  by  the  influences  which  these  feelings  suggested. 
When  they  met  the  Tories  at  Drow  Swamp,  the  latter  were 
stronger  than  had  been  expected,  and  occupied  a  well  fortified 
position.  Nettled  and  somewhat  exasperated  at  finding  he  had 
been  entrapped,  instead  of  being  governed  by  discretion,  he 
pushed  on,  disdaining  a  retreat.  The  consequence  was,  his  men 
fell  back  at  the  first  fire,  with  symptoms  of  panic,  and  made  a 
faltering  response  to  his  order  to  charge.  But  few  obeyed  with 
the  ready  alacrity  with  which  they  were  wont  to  welcome  it. 
Many  obeyed  not  at  all.  The  result  was  a  second  order,  and  they 
were  driven  back  again;  then  the  stern  old  warrior,  maddened, 
and  shouting  in  stentorian  tones  his  "rally,"  ordered  his  men  to 
charge,  or  woe  to  the  man  who  failed  to  do  his  duty;  but  only 
about  fifteen  men  came  up  to  the  call.  They  had  gone  into  the 
fight  against  superior  numbers,  strongly  posted  in  the  swamp; 
which  position  they  still  maintained.  Watson  now  became 
furious,  and  losing  his  judgment,  persisted  in  his  attempts.  At 
length,  while  loading  his  rifle  behind  a  tree,  he  was  mortally 
wounded  by  a  ball  through  his  hip.  William  Butler,  at  this 
decisive  moment,  assumed  the  command,  giving  his  lieutenancy 
to  a  man  by  the  name  of  John  Corley.  The  extreme  danger  in 
which  the  party  had  been  placed  by  the  rashness  of  Watson 
required  a  resort  to  desperate  measures,  so  he  placed  Corley  in 
the  rear,  with  an  order  to  cut  down  the  first  man  who  gave  way. 
It  so  happened  that  Joseph  Corley,  a  brother  of  the  one  first 
spoken  of,  with  others  was  seen  to  fall  back,  which,  if  it  had  been 
overlooked,  wTould  have  doomed  the  fate  of  the  balance  to  certain 
destruction.  John  Corley,  true  to  the  orders  of  his  leader,  drew 
his  pistol,  and  placing  the  muzzle  at  the  head  of  his  brother, 
ordered  him  back  to  his  post.  Joseph  returned  without  a  dis 
senting  word,  and  conducted  himself  afterward  gallantly  through 
out  the  fight.  During  the  affray,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Vardell 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  37 

was  mortally  wounded,  and  before  the  breath  left  him,  begged 
his  comrades  not  to  let  his  body  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Tories. 
Watson,  lying  between  the  contending  parties,  made  a  similar 
request,  especially  to  William  Butler.  "Billy,  my  brave  boy," 
exclaimed  the  wounded  partisan  chief,  "Do  not  let  the  cussed 
Tories  take  my  body." 

Desperate  and  reckless,  Butler  and  his  men,  with  a  wild, 
demoniac  shout  that  rang  out  on  the  welkin  as  from  so  many 
furies,  made  a  terrible  charge  that  bore  down  everything  before 
it,  scattering  the  Tories  on  the  right  and  left,  and  succeeded  also 
in  bringing  off  their  dead  and  wounded  comrades.  As  they 
retreated,  they  found  time  to  bury  the  body  of  Vardell,  concealing 
it  under  the  roots  of  a  large  oak  which  had  fallen,  covering  it  over 
with  dirt  and  leaves  by  the  use  of  their  swords.  At  some  little 
distance  from  the  scene  of  the  conflict,  they  took  refuge  in  a  log 
house,  which  answered  the  purpose  of  a  block-house  and  resting 
place.  Watson,  though  sorely  wounded,  and  under  the  appre 
hension  of  death,  still  maintained  a  determined  resolution.  A 
woman  happened  to  be  found  in  the  house  in  which  they  had 
taken  shelter,  whose  infant,  five  weeks  old,  was  in  a  dwelling 
house  some  little  distance  off.  Watson  insisted  that  she  should  be 
detained,  as  their  peculiar  condition  and  weakness  required  con 
cealment  if  possible,  as  he  said,  she  might  betray  them ;  but  she, 
finding  this  out,  hooted  at  the  idea  of  betraying  her  Whig  friends. 
Through  her  they  found  means,  however,  to  convey  information 
of  their  whereabouts,  and  their  perilous  situation,  to  Orangeburg, 
where  there  was  a  detachment.  Captain  (subsequently  General) 
Rumph,  as  soon  as  apprised,  hastened  to  their  relief.  Under  his 
escort  Watson  was  carried  upon  a  litter,  in  a  dying  condition,  to 
Orangeburg  Court  House,  where  he  expired,  and  was  buried  with 
military  honors,  Captain  Butler  superintending. 

After  this,  we  find  the  subject  of  this  memoir  acting  as  lieu 
tenant  with  Ryan.  Here  he  engaged  in  another  expedition  against 
the  Tories  in  Orangeburg  District.  The  Whigs  were  in  force  near 
the  court  house.  A  number  of  Tories,  believing  their  condition 
perilous,  and  their  cause  on  the  wane,  deserted  to  the  Whig  force. 
Ryan,  distrusting  them,  gave  orders  in  an  engagement  to  place 
them  in  front,  with  positive  instructions  if  they  wavered  for  his 
men  to  shoot  them  down.  In  a  fight  that  occurred  they  proved 


38  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

true,  but  Ryan  was  disabled  by  a  shot,  and  Lieutenant  Butler 
assumed  the  command.  The  Tories  here  were  signally  defeated. 
In  1782,  Cunningham,  the  celebrated  Tory  partisan,  made  a 
second  incursion  into  the  Ninety-sixth  District.  Perfectly 
familiar  with  the  country  from  his  youth,  possessed  of  great 
sagacity  and  fertility  of  genius  in  military  expedients,  wary  and 
strategetic,  endowed  with  all  the  physical  qualities  so  essential 
to  a  partisan,  withal  bold,  dashing  and  reckless,  he  was  even,  if  a 
Tory,  a  dangerous  as  well  as  a  formidable  adversary  to  contend 
with.  A  favorite  manoeuvre  of  his  was  to  divide  his  command 
upon  the  march  into  small  detachments,  to  be  concentrated  after 
the  Napoleonic  plan  by  different  routes,  meeting,  as  near  as  could 
be  calculated  upon,  close  to  or  at  the  point  at  which  his  blow  was 
aimed.  In  this  manner  he  had  concentrated  his  forces  at  Cor- 
rodine's  Ford  on  the  Saluda.  William  Butler,  who  was  then 
commanding  a  company  of  rangers  under  the  authority  of  Gen 
eral  Pickens,  with  a  portion  of  his  men,  manceuvered  to  come 
upon  him,  if  possible,  and  take  him  by  surprise.  With  a  view 
to  ascertain  Cunningham's  position,  he  resorted  to  a  ruse. 
Approaching  the  residence  of  Joseph  Cunningham,  near  the  junc 
tion  of  the  little  Saluda  and  big  Saluda,  he  sent  forward  his 
brother,  Thomas  Butler,  with  Abner  Corley,  to  the  house  in  the 
night.  Thomas  Butler  was  an  excellent  mimic,  so  when  he  came 
in  hailing  distance  of  the  house,  he  called  aloud,  imitating  the 
voice  of  one  of  William  Cunningham's  men,  named  Niblett,  and 
asked  where  our  friend  Cunningham  was?  The  wife  of  Joseph 
Cunningham,  coming  to  the  door,  replied,  "That  he  had  crossed 
Corrodine's  Ford."  With  this  information,  William  Butler  him 
self  rode  up  to  the  house,  and  finding  Joseph  Cunningham  there, 
compelled  him,  on  peril  of  }iis  life,  to  guide  the  party  across  the 
ford.  They  crossed  the  ford  at  12  M.  that  night,  and  next  morn 
ing  halted  in  a  peach  orchard,  near  Bouknight's  Ferry,  on  the 
Saluda.  The  horses  were  unbitted  with  saddles  on,  and  were 
feeding  upon  peas  out  of  a  caddy,  when  a  gray  mare,  which 
Cunningham  was  known  to  have  taken  from  the  neighborhood, 
was  observed  passing  back,  having  escaped  fron^  the  camp.  This 
incident  disclosed,  in  some  measure,  the  state  of  affairs,  and  the 
Rangers  received  the  orders  to  march.  The  Rangers  numbered 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  39 

some  thirty,  and  Cunningham's  men  some  twenty.  The  bloody 
transaction  of  Cloud's  Creek, 

"Feeding  its  torch  with  the  thought  of  wrong," 

aroused  the  passion,  stirred  up  the  blood  and  enthused  the  chiv 
alrous  spirit  of  Butler,  to  grapple  with  the  bloody  fiend  and 
wreak  if  possible  vengeance  for  the  deed.  It  was  not  the  ven 
geance  as  sought  for  by  an  assassin.  It  was  not  to  be  taken  in  a 
dastardly  manner;  no  midnight  shotgun  from  behind  a  tree,  or 
the  sudden  plunge  of  a  sharp  knife ;  the  coward's  virtue,  through 
the  heart — no !  It  was  an  encounter  to  be  like  as  between  the 
knights  of  old;  an  encounter  rather  with  the  feelings  of  the 
duello  than  the  battlefield.  Approaching  the  partisan's  position, 
John  Corley  was  detailed  with  eighteen  men  to  gain  the  rear, 
and  upon  a  concerted  signal  to  commence  the  attack.  While  the 
main  body  advanced  under  cover  of  a  hedge,  the  Tories  were 
drying  their  blankets  by  their  camp  fires,  and  Cunningham  him 
self  was  at  a  little  distance  off  from  his  band.  As  it  afterwards 
appeared,  Butler's  person  being  at  one  time  exposed,  in  advanc 
ing  before  the  signal  was  given,  he  was  observed  by  the  Tories, 
but  taken  for  their  own  leader,  for  it  is  said  there  was  a  strong 
personal  resemblance  between  the  two  men.  Upon  the  giving  of 
the  signal,  Corley  made  a  furious  and  dashing  assault,  himself 
foremost,  like  another  Murat  in  leading  the  charge. 

"Thus  joined  the  band,  whom  mutual  wrong, 
And  fate  and  fury  drove  along." 

This  was  the  first  intimation  to  the  Tories  that  their  exasper 
ated  foes  were  at  hand.  Cunningham  was  promptly  at  his  post; 
but  although  taken  by  surprise,  his  eyes  were  open,  and  he  sa\v 
at  a  glance  that  his  foes  were  superior  in  numbers ;  but  so  wary 
was  he, 

"By  trial  of  his  former  harms  and  cares." 

governed,  too,  by  the  adage  that  "discretion  is  the  better  part  of 
valor,"  that  he  shouted  out  to  his  men  to  take  care  of  themselves, 
and  hastened  to  his  saddleless  steed,  released  the  bridle  reins,  and 
then  on  her  bare  back  nimbly  leaped  astraddle,  with  a  trained 
partisan's  quickness,  and  went  bounding  through  the  wild  woods 


40  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

like  another  Mazeppa.  Close  behind  him  dashed  Butler  in  hot 
pursuit.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  exciting,  and  more  to 
have  been  desired  by  him. 

"Away ! — away !   and  on  they  dash  ! 
Torrents  less  rapid  and  less  rash." 

Both  men  were  remarkably  fine  riders,  and  tradition  has  pre 
served  the  names  of  the  two  horses  they  rode  on  that  occasion. 
Cunningham  was  mounted  on  a  stylish,  splendidly  formed  black 
mare  having  glossy  skin,  trim  legs,  with  three  white  feet. 

"Who  looked  as  though  the  speed  of  thought 
Were  in  her  limbs," 

that  had  become  celebrated  in  his  service  as  "Silver  Heels,"  while 
Butler  rode  a  noble-looking,  broad-breasted,  long-hoofed, 
straight-legged,  passing-strong  steed,  a  dark  bay,  with  full  eyes 
and  nostrils  wide,  called  "Ranter,"  who  possessed  great  powers 
of  endurance.  Butler  carried  only  a  sabre,  and  Cunningham 
pistols  which  had  been  rendered  useless  by  the  rain  of  the  pre 
vious  night,  for  he  snapped  them  both  repeatedly  over  his 
shoulders  at  his  adversary  as  the  gallant  mare  went  thunder 
ing  on 

"With  flowing  tail  and  flying  inane 
With  nostrils  never  stretched  by  pain." 

Life  or  death  to  both  hung  upon  the  fleetness  of  their  horses. 
As  long  as  the  chase  was  in  the  woods,  Ranter  maintained  his 
own;  but  when  they  struck  an  open  trail,  in  which  the  superior 
stride  of  Cunningham's  thoroughbred  could  tell,  turning  his 
body,  with  his  head  thrown  round,  looking  over  his  left  shoulder 
askance  at  Butler,  holding  tightly  the  reins  in  his  left  hand, 
while  a  triumphant  smile  played  over  his  countenance,  he  patted 
the  shoulders  of  the  noble  animal  that  bore  him,  tauntingly 
exclaiming,  as  he  threw  out  his  right  hand  behind  him,  shaking 
his  forefinger — "Damn  you,  Bill  Butler,  I'm  safe;  but  mark,  the 
next  chase  will  be  mine !"  when 

"Away!  away!  dashed  Silver  Heels 
Upon  the  pinions  of  the  wind, 
Leaving  Ranter  far  behind; 
She  sped  like  a  meteor  thro'  the  sky 
When  with  its  crackling  sound  the  night, 
Is  chequer'd  with  the  northern  light," 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  41 

and  soon  was  seen  with  her  rider  on  her  back  swimming  Saluda 
river  near  Lorick's  Ferry.  Sullenly  Butler  returned  from  the 
pursuit  of  Cunningham.  At  the  Tory  camp  he  found  a  portion 
of  his  command  assembled  under  circumstances  w^hich  gave  him 
great  concern.  Turner,  one  of  the  Tory  prisoners,  had  been 
deliberately  shot  through  the  heart  after  he  had  surrendered. 
Alas! 

"There's  was  the  strife 
That  neither  spares  nor  speaks  for  life." 

Upon  inquiry  he  ascertained  one  Seysin  had  done  the  deed, 
who  justified  himself  by  reciting  an  outrage  the  unfortunate  man 
had  inflicted  upon  his  mother,  to  wit :  Turner  had  stripped  Mrs. 
Seysin  to  the  waist,  then  tied  her  hard  and  fast,  and  whipped 
her  severely  to  force  her  to  disclose  where  was  concealed  a  party 
of  Whigs,  among  whom  was  her  son.  Butler  sternly  rebuked  the 
act  as  cruel  and  contrary  to  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare.  Though 
warring  against  a  savage,  relentless  foe,  yet  he  was  high-toned 
and  chivalrous  to  a  fault.  Seysin  was  brought  to  trial  before  the 
corps.  The  verdict  was  in  his  favor  and  no  court-martial  was 
held.  The  deed  was  certainly  savage  and  cruel,  but  the  strong, 
palliating  circumstances  of  the'  whipping  of  his  mother  was  in 
his  favor. 

A  pursuit  of  Cunningham's  men  was  ordered  immediately  by 
Butler  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  or  finally  dispersing  them. 
Some  were  overtaken  while  crossing  the  river  and  some  in  the 
forest.  Butler  was  disposed  to  be  lenient  and  merciful,  but  he 
soon  saw  that  his  men,  rough,  illiterate  and  prejudiced,  were 
ungovernable.  Such  is,  and  has  ever  been,  the  result  of  civil 
strife.  Alas !  the  horrors  of  war  when  a  common  country  is 
divided. 

"All  that  the  Devil  would  do,  if  run  stark  mad, 
Is  then  let  loose." 

No  threats  or  orders  could  deter  them  from  shooting  the  fleeing 
Tories.  He  ordered  one  DeLoach,  who  was  in  the  act  of  firing  his 
rifle,  to  desist;  while  another  by  the  name  of  Sherwood  Corley, 
who  was  just  behind  him  in  the  river,  snapped  his  pistol  at  one 
of  the  retreating  Tories,  and  though  he  was  ordered  to  cease  from 


42  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

firing,  yet  deliberately  reprimed  his  rifle  afresh,  fired  and  killed  a 
Tory  by  the  name  of  Davis  as  he  was  ascending  the  Edgefield 
bank. 

"'In  vain  he  did  whatever  a  chief  may  do 
To  cheek  the  headstrong  fury  of  that  crew.     « 
In  vain  their  stubborn  ardor  he  would  tame, 

But,  alas ! 
The  hand  that  kindled  could  not  quench  the  flame." 

The  result  of  this  action  was  the  breaking  up  and  final  dis 
persion  of  Cunningham's  famous  band.  He  himself  retired  to 
Cuba,  where  he  was  awarded  after  his  arrival  something  like  an 
ovation  by  the  British  for  his  traitorous  services.  After  the  war, 
Major  Gandy,  a  gallant  partisan  of  the  Revolution,  visited  Cuba 
on  account  of  his  health.  Cunningham,  in  the  true  spirit  of  hos 
pitality,  called  upon  him,  and  while  chatting  with  him  about  the 
war,  told  him  that  on  one  occasion  he  had  ridden  up  with  an 
escort  at  his  back  to  a  house  near  Ninety-Six,  in  which  Gandy 
and  others  were  playing  cards,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  if 
William  Butler  was  among  them. 

"Why  did  you  not  fire  upon  us?"  asked  Gandy. 

"I  had  no  desire  to  kill  you,"  replied  Cunningham,  "but  if 
Bill  Butler  had  been  there,  the  floor  of  that  house  would  have 
been  flooded  with  blood." 

Cunningham,  before  he  left,  extended  an  invitation  to  the 
Major  to  dine  with  him.  Whether  he  did  so  or  not  tradition  does 
not  say.  Here  he  died.  He  was  a  man  born  to  command,  of  an 
unyielding  and  independent  obstinacy  of  character,  possessed  of 
splendid  military  ability,  bold,  courageous,  yet  revengeful  and 
vindictive.  He  might  have  won  for  himself  an  imperishable  name 
of  honor,  but  by  his  treason  he  wiped  it  out  in  the  betrayal  of 
his  country,  and  his  name  remains  to  the  ensuing  age  abhorred. 

From  the  conclusion  of  this  skirmish  and  the  blotting  out  of 
Cunningham's  band,  until  the  close  of  the  war,  Butler  continued 
at  the  head  of  the  Rangers  under  the  command  of  General 
Pickens,  and  was  considered  his  favorite  captain.  He  had,  how 
ever,  now  very  little  duty  to  do,  other  than  patrol  to  perform, 
consequently— 

"The  trenchant  blade,  Toledo  trusty, 
Grew  rusty." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  43 

His  company  of  Rangers  was  not  discharged  until  after  1784, 
a  year  after  the  peace. 

With  the  resumption  of  peace  and  the  pursuits  of  civil  life,  the 
soldiers'  thoughts  turned  from — 

"The  burning  shell,  the  gateway  wrench'd  asunder, 
The  rattling  musketry,  the  clashing  blade, 
The  charge,  the  shout,  the  tones  of  thunder, 
The  diapason  of  the  cannonade," 

and  reverted  to  the  young  girl  of  the  Saluda — the  star  of  his 
worship — 

"Whose  gentle  ray 
Beam'd  constant  o'er  his  lonely  way," 

whom  he  saw  at  Savage's  house  during  Greene's  retreat  from 
Ninety-Six,  which  has  already  been  narrated;  nor  had  she  for 
gotten  the  young  officer  of  the  cockade  and  plume,  for  when  the 
mother  and  family  bitterly  opposed  his  attentions,  and  her  step 
father  forbade  him  to  visit  her  at  his  house,  she  boldly  and  fear 
lessly  proved  by  her  determination  and  pluck  that — 

"Love  is  not  reasoned  down  or  lost ; 
It  grows  into  the  soul, 
Warms  every  vein  and  beats  in  every  pulse," 

for  she  told  him  to  come  and  she  would  meet  him.  The  result  of 
it  was  they  were  married  in  the  latter  part  of  1784.  Miss 
Bethethland  Foote  Moore,  whom  William  Butler  had  selected  as 
his  partner,  as  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  was  a  woman  of  strong, 
and  in  many  respects  remarkable,  traits  of  character.  She  always 
exercised  great  influence  over  him,  and  he  relied  upon  her  judg 
ment  and  advice.  He  seemed  to  have  inspired  her  with  a  deep 
and  profound  feeling  of  respect,  almost  amounting  to  fascination, 
which  of  itself  is  one  of  the  highest  tributes  that  could  be  paid  his 
memory. 

In  1794,  William  Butler  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  of 
South  Carolina,  which  was  then  the  custom,  to  be  the  sheriff  of 
Ninety-sixth  District.  He  discharged  few  of  the  ministerial 
duties,  however,  leaving  these  to  be  carried  out  by  his  brothers, 
Thomas  and  Stanmore,  who  were  his  deputies;  but,  as  to  one 
thing,  he  always  conducted  the  military  escort  of  the  judge 


44  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

during  the  sitting  of  the  courts.  The  sheriffalty  of  that  day  was 
an  office  of  high  distinction.  It  was  esteemed  as  an  office  of 
honor,  which  could  only  be  obtained  by  men  of  virtue,  merit, 
honesty  and  worth,  but  now  it  hath  lost  its  lustre  and  reputation, 
and  resolved  itself  into  a  mercenary  purchase. 

William  Butler,  as  sheriff  of  Ninety-sixth  District,  received 
General  Washington  when  upon  his  Southern  tour,  from  the 
authorities  of  Georgia,  and  conducted  him  by  the  Pine  House  to 
the  Eidge  in  Edgefield  District,  which  was  near  the  termination 
of  his  territorial  jurisdiction.  At  the  Ridge,  General  Hampton, 
then  sheriff  of  what  was  called  Camden  District,  received  and 
conducted  him  to  Granby,  situated  on  the  Congaree  river,  about 
one  mile  and  a  half  below  Columbia,  through  by  Camden,  and 
thence  to  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  where  the  authorities  01  that 
State  received  the  illustrious  patriot  and  Father  of  his  Country. 

In  1798  General  Pickens  resigned  the  office  of  Major-General  of 
the  Upper  Division  of  South  Carolina  militia,  and  through  his 
recommendation  William  Butler  was  elected  by  the  State  Legis 
lature  to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  1800,  General  Butler  became  a  can 
didate  for  Congress  against  Goodloe  Harper,  the  incumbent  from 
the  Ninety-sixth  District.  Mr.  Harper  had  been  a  Republican, 
but  from  conscientious  motives  joined  the  Federals,  and  sup 
ported  what  was  peculiarly  unpopular  at  the  South,  "Jay's 
treaty."  This  raised  opposition  to  him  at  home,  and  General 
Butler  was  elected  as  the  opposition  candidate,  his  old  com 
mander,  John  Ryan,  moving  the  nomination.  He  succeeded  in 
the  election,  and  took  his  seat  in  1801.  When  the  resolution 
charging  General  Wilkinson  with  complicity  with  Burr  in  his 
attempted  treason  was  moved  and  adopted  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  the  occasion  ^ave  rise  to  great  sensation.  A  dis 
cussion  took  place  upon  the  floor  of  the  House  as  to  the  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  of  Investigation.  A  ballot  was  called  for  by 
Wilkinson's  friends.  The  motion  was  overruled,  and  the  duty  of 
making  the  appointment  devolved  on  the  Speaker.  He  appointed 
General  Butler.  Wilkinson  at  the  time  made  some  offensive 
remarks,  something  of  this  kind,  "That  he  was  not  only  to  be 
tried  by  a  militia  general,  but  that  he  was  condemned  before  he 
was  tried."  This  being  reported  to  General  Butler,  he  resigned 
his  position  on  the  committee.  Roger  Bacon  was  appointed  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  45 

succeed  him.  Owing  to  the  remarks,  unfriendly  communication 
passed  between  him  and  Wilkinson.  They,  however,  in  course 
of  time,  became  reconciled. 

In  1813  General  Butler  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  distinctly 
and  conclusively,  in  preference  of  all  others,  to  Mr.  John  C. 
Calhoun,  the  great  Southern  statesman,  saying  to  him,  "You  can 
meet  Randolph  in  debate — I  cannot."  How  few  would  acknowl 
edge  so  candidly  their  inferiority  today,  and  resign  their  seat  in 
Congress  to  put*  in  even  a  Clay,  Webster  or  another  Calhoun. 
That  was  the  age  of  giants  and  men.  Verily,  the  days  of  noble 
ness  of  soul  and  pure  integrity  have  passed  away.  Each  one  at 
the  present  thinks  he  is  the  observed  of  the  observers.  Cicero, 
Demosthenes,  Patrick  Henry,  aye,  Solomon,  the  wise  man,  was 
a  fool  beside  them. 

Butler's  admiration  for  Randolph  was  very  high,  and  notwith 
standing  they  differed  in  opinion  as  to  the  war  of  1812,  they  con 
tinued  to  entertain  friendly  relations.  Butler  on  a  certain 
occasion  spent  some  time  with  him  at  his  homestead,  by  invitation, 
in  returning  from  Congress.  In  1814,  General  Butler  Avas  called 
by  Governor  Alston,  in  a  very  complimentary  manner,  now  on 
record  in  Washington,  to  command  the  troops  of  South  Carolina 
at  Charleston.  President  Madison  had  in  1812  offered  to  him  the 
commission  of  Brigadier-General  in  the  United  States  army,  but 
he  declined  it,  saying,  "He  was  a  Major-General  at  home."  Gen 
eral  Jackson  was  appointed  to  command  the  forces  at  New 
Orleans,  while  General  Butler  was  in  command  at  Charleston. 
They  had  been  comrades  in  early  life,  and  Jackson  sent  him  word, 
"That  they  were  both  called  militia  generals,  but  that  he  knew 
whichever  was  attacked  first  would  do  his  duty."  General 
Pickens,  who  was  a  man  of  some  military  ability,  had  an  idea 
that  he  knew  exactly  how,  as  unfortunately  was  the  case  during 
the  late  civil  strife,  by  a  goodly  lot  of  persons,  to  prescribe  the 
mode  of  defense  for  Charleston,  which  was  this :  To  allow  the 
enemy  to  land  and  then  fight  them  through  the  streets  from 
behind  barricades.  Butler's  response  to  him  was,  "That  when  he 
assumed  the  command,  he  expected  to  consult  the  dictates  of  his 
own  judgment,  and  he  should  meet  them  at  the  water."  An 
incursion  was  made  upon  one  of  the  islands  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  provisions  to  the  fleet  off  the  coast,  and  a  slight  affair 


46  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

occurred,  in  which  Captain  Dent,  of  the  navy,  was  principally 
engaged.  The  incursion  was  repelled.  This  was  the  only  engage 
ment  with  the  enemy  of  any  portion  of  General  Butler's  com 
mand.  It  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  his  friend  to  vindicate  the 
ability  of  militia  generals.  The  war  terminated*with  the  battle 
of  New  Orleans,  and  General  Butler  became  a  private  citizen. 
From  this  period  to  the  close  of  his  life,  he  confined  himself  prin 
cipally  to  the  business  of  superintending  his  farm.  During  the 
time  he  was  in  Congress,  his  seat  was  twice  contested.  First,  by 
Dr.  Seriren,  a  man  of  high  character,  and  afterward  by  Edmond 
Bacon,  a  man  of  decided  ability.  The  last  contest  gave  rise  to 
the  unfortunate  issue  known  as  "old  and  new  parties  of  Edge- 
field."  It  was  bitter  and  acrimonious,  and  led  to  many  painful 
contentions.  Mr.  Bacon,  however,  became  not  only  reconciled 
with,  but  afterwards  a  warm  friend  of  General  Butler  and  others, 
wrhose  names  are  to  be  found  upon  the  journal  to  consider  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  they  voted  against  it. 
He  was  subsequently  a  member  of  the  convention  which  formed 
the  State  Constitution,  that  held  its  own  until  changed  by  the 
Republican  party  of  1868. 

General  Butler's  brothers  were  first,  Thomas,  who  was  regarded 
a  man  of  considerable  military  talent ;  second,  Sampson,  who  was 
sheriff  of  Edgefield,  and  for  many  years  a  representative  from 
that  district  in  the  State  Legislature ;  Stanmore,  who  was  a  cap 
tain  in  the  United  States  army  during  the  time  war  was  expected 
with  France,  and  was  also  clerk  of  the  court  of  Edgefield  when  he 
died ;  and  last,  was  James,  who  was  killed  during  the  Revolution 
in  the  skirmish  on  Cloud's  Creek.  He  had  two  sisters,  Nancy  and 
Elizabeth.  The  first  married  Elisha  Brooks,  Avho  was  a  lieu 
tenant  in  the  Revolution;  fhe  latter  married  *Z.  Smith  Brooks, 
who  was  also  a  lieutenant  in  the  Revolution,  and  subsequently  a 
colonel  of  State  cavalry.  He  had  eight  children,  to-wit:  James, 
who  was  sheriff  of  Edgefield  District  and  a  colonel  of  State 
cavalry  at  his  death.  George  Butler  was  a  lawyer,  and  during  the 
war  of  1812  served  as  major  in  the  regular  army.  William  was 
a  physician,  and  was  a  surgeon  in  the  army  at  New  Orleans;  he 

*Zachariah  Smith  Brooks,  father  of  Whitfleld  Brooks,  who  was  father  to 
James  Carroll  Brooks,  who  was  father  to  U.  R.  Brooks. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  47 

also  served  one  term  as  a  representative  in  Congress.  Frank 
Butler  was  a  lawyer.  Pierce  M.  Butler  was  an  officer  in  the 
regular  army,  was  president  of  the  Bank  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina — was  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  fell  in  the  battle 
of  Churubusco,  in  Mexico,  at  the  head  of  the  gallant  Palmetto 
regiment;  Emmela,  the  only  daughter,  was  married  to  General 
Waddy  Thompson,  who  was  a  lawyer,  a  member  of  Congress, 
and  Minister  to  Mexico.  Leontine  died  young.  Andrew  Pickens 
Butler,  who  passed  away  a  score  of  years  ago,  and  whom  I  knew 
well,  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  the  law  at  an  early  age, 
rose  to  distinction  in  his  profession,  was  elected  a  judge  by  the 
South  Carolina  Legislature,  and  wras  finally  elected  by  the  same 
body  as  Senator  to  Congress,  where  he  attained  an  enviable  posi 
tion. 

General  Butler  was  a  handsome  man.  He  stood  fully  six  feet 
high.  He  was  a  good  shot  with  the  rifle,  well  versed  in  woodcraft 
and  a  splendid  horseman.  His  love  for  horses  amounted  to  a 
passion.  He  would  have  nothing  but  the  finest  blood  on  his  place. 
He  considered  it  a  defect  in  his  sons  not  to  ride  well,  and  was  in 
the  habit  of  making  them  break  his  colts,  until  upon  one  occasion, 
when  a  dare-devil  filly  was  to  be  broken  and  two  of  the  boys, 
Pickens  and  Pierce,  were  drawing  lots  to  see  who  should  have  the 
honor  of  doing  it,  Mrs.  Butler  interfered,  saying  she  could  stand 
it  no  longer;  that  they  were  her  children  as  well  as  his,  and  if 
the  filly  was  to  be  broken,  why  not  let  the  negro  boys  do  it  ?  Gen 
eral  Butler  yielded,  carelessly  remarking  in  a  humorous  tone, 
with  a  smile  playing  around  his  mouth,  "Well,  my  dear  wife,  be 
it  so,  but  it  would  not  hurt  the  boys  to  be  thrown  off,  as  the 
ground  has  just  been  freshly  plowed."  "Xo,  mother,"  exclaimed 
the  boys  at  the  same  time,  "a  little  exercise  today  would  be  bene 
ficial."  At  one  time  he  was  engaged  upon  the  turf,  and  was  in 
most  cases  successful.  Upon  one  occasion,  when  he  had  entered 
into  an  engagement  to  run  a  race,  some  circumstance  happened, 
by  his  financially  assisting  a  friend,  that  run  him  short.  Under 
the  circumstances,  however,  as  his  wrord  was  his  bond,  he  put  up 
as  a  ~bona  -fide  collateral  a  favorite  family  body  servant,  whose 
name  was  Will.  It  annoyed  him  in  no  small  degree  that  he  had  to 
put  him  up.  But  the  vulgar  adage  runs,  "Fortune  favors  the 
brave  "  so  it  seemed  with  him.  He  won  the  race.  It  was  his  last. 


48  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Returning  home  satisfied  and  rejoiced,  he  communicated  to  his 
wife  what  had  taken  place.  Upon  hearing  his  statement,  she  read 
him  a  curtain  lecture  on  the  evils  likely  to  result  from  horse- 
racing  and  gambling,  and  then  solicited  a  pledge  from  him  to  the 
effect  that  he  would  never  run  another  horse  Yace  or  gamble. 
Forthwith  he  gave  his  pledge  never  to  be  guilty  of  the  like  again. 
Having  retired  from  all  public  business,  and  in  a  great  degree 
having  abandoned  the  most  of  his  old  habits,  as  horse-racing  and 
sporting  in  general,  he  became  almost  a  stranger  in  the  midst  of 
society,  amusing  himself  with  agricultural  experiments,  and  in 
trying  to  promote  the  happiness  of  his  children  and  domestics, 
friends  and  neighbors.  His  health,  which  for  some  time  had  been 
delicate,  owing  to  the  exposure  and  hardships  endured  during 
the  war,  gradually  declined  and  he  passed  away  on  the  23rd  of 
September,  1821,  in  the  beginning  of  his  sixty-third  year,  with 
remarkable  calmness,  composure  and  dignity, 

"Like  one  who  draws  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

While  he  left  but  little  of  anything  that  can  be  gathered  from 
historical  statements  that  is  and  was  remarkable  and  more  won 
derful  than  can  be  said  of  thousands  of  others,  yet  what  may  be 
and  has  been  penned  by  his  son,  as  well  as  confirmed  by  many 
old  citizens,  who  well  recollected  of  him  in  the  years  gone  by 
when  I  made  inquiries,  was  that  he  was  a  man  of  note  and  decided 
mark  in  his  day  and  time. 

General  Butler  was  a  man  of  but  little  education,  yet  of  strong 
impressions  and  great  self-reliance.  One  strong  peculiarity 
marked  his  public,  as  well  as  private  character,  which  it  would 
be  well  for  many  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  as  well  as 
of  Congress,  of  much  less  calibre  to  model  after.  He  had  an 
utter  contempt  for  long  letters  and  long  speeches.  He  frequently, 
when  conversing  on  this  subject,  alluded  to  John  Rutledge  as  one 
among  the  best  speakers  he  ever  heard,  commending  him  chiefly 
for  his  brevity.  He  himself,  whenever  he  addressed  his  constit 
uents  or  an  assembly,  always  made  brief,  pointed  speeches,  and 
he  never  wrote  a  letter  over  a  page  long,  and  that  to  the  point. 
His  sheriff  books  were  a  model  of  official  exactness.  During  his 
life  neither  gain  nor  personal  aggrandizement  had  any  power  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  49 

bend  his  principles  and  independence.  In  his  political  conflicts, 
no  breath  of  suspicion  ever  assailed  his  integrity  or  dimmed  the 
escutcheon  of  his  honor.  He  could  not  have  been  induced  to  vary 
on  any  cherished  opinion,  except  confronted  by  sound  reasons, 
for  the  highest  positions.  Fawning  and  flattery  were  foreign  to 
his  nature.  Keenly  alive  to  any  breath  upon  the  purity  of  his 
motives,  ancestry  or  character,  he  took  no  pains  to  cultivate  noto 
riety.  He  was  no  literary  scholar  nor  fluent  orator.  Though  his 
connection  with  most  of  the  events  narrated  was  a  subordinate 
one,  yet  he  always  had  his  own  decided,  determined  opinions. 
Possessed  of  an  excellent  judgment,  trained  and  educated  in  the 
academy  of  common  sense,  and  graduating  in  the  college  of 
experience,  which  to  mortals  is  a  blessing  and  providence,  he 
might  truly  be  put  down  as  a  scholar  of  rare  and  undoubted 
might.  As  to  his  courage,  he  was  as  brave  as  humanity  could 
possibly  be.  He  had  his  faults ;  it  would  be  fortunate  for  any  of 
us  who  could  be  charged  with  less,  but  the  error  and  frailty  which 
belonged  to  him  often  took  their  color  from  virtue  itself.  On 
these  he  needs  no  silence,  even  if  the  grave,  which  has  long  been 
closed  over  him,  did  not  refuse  its  echoes,  except  to  what  is  good. 

His  reputation  was  the  product  of  no  hot-bed  appliances,  as 
used  at  the  present  day,  but  slowly  and  noiselessly  it  grew,  strong 
and  high,  like  the  tall  pine  of  his  native  country  and  State,  whose 
head  revels  proudly  in  the  sweeping  winds.  As  an  officeholder, 
he  was  courteous,  respectful  and  attended  to  the  wants  and 
requirements  of  his  constituents.  As  a  citizen,  he  was  law- 
abiding,  loyal  and  true.  As  a  son,  obedient  and  submissive.  As 
a  brother,  his  love  was  like  that  of  Jonathan  for  David.  As  a 
husband,  he  was  affectionate,  devoted  and  constant.  As  a  father, 
kind,  loving  and  considerate,  though  he  was  absolute  master  of 
his  household,  making  his  children  entirely  subservient  to  his 
commands.  As  a  friend,  though  his  friendship  was  not  demon- 
stative,  yet  it  was  strong  and  enduring.  As  a  foe,  he  was  manly 
and  honorable.  As  a  man,  would  there  were  more  like  him. 

Silently  in  the  deep  stillness  of  that  dreamless  state  which 
knows  no  waking  earthly  joys  again,  he  reposes  in  the  old  bury 
ing  ground  on  Big  Creek,  in  Edgefield  District,  S.  C.,  while  from 
the  silence  of  the  tomb  and  from  the  dust  and  bones  that  may  lie 
in  the  coffin  that  contains  them,  there  come  forth  lessons  of  warn- 

4 — B.    C. 


50  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ing  and  admonition,  speaking  in  tones  of  thunder,  fraught  with 
experience  and  wisdom  to  the  youth  of  his  native  State,  who  are 
just  entering  private  and  public  life,  with  all  its  temptations  and 
seducements  before  them;  that  there  are  tricks  and  shams  and 
intimidations  that  are  and  will  be  set  as  pitfalls  in  their  paths. 
With  much  that  may  be  noble  and  inspiring  about  them,  there 
are  and  will  be  manifold  inclinations  to  sloth,  to  fickleness,  and  it 
may  be  to  corruption.  Who  can  tell  whether  some  of  them  have 
not  already  set  their  feet  in  the  way  that  leads  down  to  moral 
death?  They  need  the  tones  of  that  voice,  whom  we  are  now 
reviewing,  which  never  directed  the  coward's  retreat,  the  splendid 
calm  of  that  clear  face  and  blue  eyes,  that  kept  its  serenity  and 
brilliancy  amid  all  dangers  and  difficulties  in  the  times  that  tried 
men's  souls,  and  when  the  battle  by  day  or  night  around  him  was 
at  its  thickest.  They  need  the  actual  sight  of  and  association  with 
all  such  as  he  was,  who  by  example  and  precept  will  elevate  their 
aims,  establish  their  character  and  make  them  truly  patriotically 
private  as  well  as  public  servants  for  the  public  good.  And  for 
those  who  are  connected  with  public  affairs  today,  and  who  desire 
to  maintain  and  preserve  an  honorable  reputation,  what  better 
course  can  be  suggested  or  given  than  for  those  to  emulate  the 
patriotism,  the  steadfastness,  the  courage,  the  manliness,  the 
sobriety,  the  honesty  and  the  justice  of  William  Butler ! 

He  speaks  in  characters  that  never  die, 
The  human  greatness  of  an  age  gone  by. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  51 


MATTHEW  CALBRAITH  BUTLER 

Gentleman,  Statesman,  Soldier,  Matthew  Calbraith  Butler  was 
born  near  Greenville,  S.  C.,  on  the  8th  March,  1836. 

On  the  Butler  side  of  the  house  he  is  descended  from  a  distin 
guished  family  of  heroes,  soldiers,  and  statesmen.  The  Butlers 
were  among  the  pioneers  of  South  Carolina  settling  in  the  north 
ern  portion  of  Edgefield  County,  South  Carolina.  They  came 
from  Prince  William  County,  Virginia.  His  great  grandfather, 
Captain  James  Butler,  died  fighting  for  his  country  in  the  incip- 
iency  of  the  American  Eevolution.  This  Butler  family  can  trace 
back  to  the  Duke  of  Ormand,  the  great  Royalist  leader  in  England. 
His  grandfather,  General  Wm.  Butler,  rose  from  a  lieutenant 
to  major-general,  and  was  also  very  prominent  in  the  legislative 
department  of  the  State,  and  served  thirteen  years  in  Congress. 
He  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  to  give  way  to  John  C.  Calhoun, 
who  afterwards  became  the  greatest  statesman  America  ever 
produced.  Dr.  Wm.  Butler  was  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the 
United  States  Navy,  and  while  stationed  at  Newport.  Rhode 
Island,  met  Jane  Tweedy  Perry,  sister  of  Commodore  O.  H. 
Perry,  of  Lake  Erie  fame,  and  Commodore  M.  C.  Perry,  who 
first  opened  up  our  commercial  relations  with  Japan.  All  readers 
of  American  history  are  intimately  acquainted  with  the  never- 
dying  fame  of  these  two  naval  heroes.  Dr.  Butler  fell  in  love 
with  Jane  T.  Perry,  resigned  from  the  navy,  came  South  and 
settled  on  his  father's  estate  on  Saluda  River,  in  Edgefield  County. 
He  lived  on  his  plantation  only  a  short  while,  finding  it  very 
unhealthy.  Dr.  Butler  bought  a  place  near  Greenville,  South 
Carolina,  the  foot  hills  of  the  Blue  Ridge  range  of  mountains. 
Here  it  was  Matthew  Calbraith  Butler  was  born  and  named  after 
his  illustrious  uncle,  Commodore  M.  C.  Perry.  The  Perry  family 
came  of  a  strong,  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  family,  claiming  direct 
descent  from  Wm.  Wallace,  the  great  rebel,  who  defied  the  Eng 
lish  Government  and  was  hung  as  a  rebel.  Jane  T.  Perry's  father 
was  a  Captain  Perry  of  the  United  States  Navy.  People,  like 
finely  bred  horses  and  other  stock,  are  judged  by  their  breeding, 
etc.  In  1848  President  Polk  appointed  Dr.  Wm.  Butler  agent  to 


52  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  Cherokee  Indians  out  West.  The  family  went  overland  in 
carriages  and  wagons.  In  this  cavalcade  Calbraith  Butler, 
seventh  child  of  Jane  and  Wm.  Butler,  drove  a  mule  named  Jerry, 
hitched  to  a  one-horse  wagon,  from  Greenville  to  Fort  Gibson, 
Arkansas.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  remamed  out  West  till 
1851.  Commodore  M.  C.  Perry  had  written  his  sister  for  one  of 
her  boys  to  educate,  and  Judge  A.  P.  Butler,  of  South  Carolina, 
also  wanted  one.  It  was  left  to  Calbraith  to  choose  which  of  the 
two  uncles  he  would  live  with.  He  selected  Judge  Butler,  and 
he  landed  in  Edgefield  in  the  fall  of  1851,  though  he  had  been  on 
a  previous  visit  in  1849.  Judge  Butler  lived  about  five  miles 
from  the  Town  of  Edgefield,  and  young  Butler  rode  into  school 
every  day.  He  was  a  leader  from  his  youth.  Captain  in  all  out 
door  sports,  fair  but  full  of  mischief  and  fun.  Professor  Leitner, 
who  prepared  him  for  college,  in  conversation  with  his  brother, 
the  late  Hon.  W.  Z.  Leitner,  pointed  to  young  Butler  and  said, 
"that  boy  will  be  a  great  leader  of  men,"  and  in  the  language  of 
the  poet,  "Childhood  shows  the  man  as  morning  shows  the  day." 

He  entered  the  South  Carolina  College  in  1854,  but  left  after 
the  junior  year.  He  studied  law  under  his  uncle,  Judge  Butler, 
one  of  the  leading  lawyers  in  South  Carolina,  and  a  member  of 
the  United  States  Senate.  The  wido\v  of  old  General  Wm.  Butler 
lived  with  her  son,  Judge  A.  P.  Butler,  and  it  was  her  care  and 
training — for  she  was  known  far  and  near  for  the  beauty  and 
grandeur  of  her  character — which  helped  to  form  the  young 
man's  character  as  he  was  growing  into  manhood.  After  leaving 
college  he  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  practice,  and  began  his 
professional  career  at  Edgefield,  South  Carolina.  Soon  after  his 
admission  he  married  Maria  Calhoun  Pickens,  fourth  child  of 
Colonel  F.  W.  Pickens,  afterwards  governor  of  South  Carolina. 
He  served  one  term  in  the 'State  Legislature,  and  before  he  could 
be  reflected  the  tocsin  of  the  bloody  War  Between  the  States  was 
sounded.  He  was  elected  captain  of  the  Edgefield  Hussars,  and 
left  home  for  the  battlefield  in  Virginia,  the  seat  of  war.  Few 
men  ever  served  their  country  with  more  distinguished  gallantry 
than  did  M.  C.  Butler.  He  rose  from  captain  at  the  First  Battle 
of  Manassas  to  major-general  of  cavalry  on  the  25th  day  of 
August,  1864.  There  are  few  men  in  the  United  States  who  can 
boast  a  prouder  family  inheritance  than  General  Butler.  For 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  53 

three  generations  his  ancestors  and  relations  on  both  sides  of  the 
house  have  been  distinguished  in  public  service  as  naval  and 
army  officers,  judges,  governors  and  United  States  senators. 
His  father  was  a  high-toned  gentleman,  possessing  a  tall 
and  strikingly  handsome  person,  and  very  popular  with  the 
people.  All  of  these  virtues  and  graces  his  distinguished  son  has 
inherited.  At  the  desperate  battle  of  Brandy  Station,  9th  June, 
1863,  he  lost  his  leg.  "One  of  the  most  dashing  figures  seen  that 
day  was  Colonel  M.  C.  Butler  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  the 
Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry."  Twenty-seven  years  of  age, 
molded  like  an  Apollo,  with  a  face  as  sweet  and  handsome  as  that 
of  any  god  of  old,  he  sat  his  horse  like  a  typical  South  Carolina 
cavalier;  gentle  as  any  fawn  when  comrades  wrere  assembled  in 
social  converse;  fierce  as  a  veteran  grenadier  when  the  foe  was  to 
be  met  face  to  face.  But  he  lost  writh  his  leg  none  of  that  uncon 
querable  dash  and  spirit  that  made  him  a  very  paladin  in  the 
cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  Returning  to 
his  command  as  quickly  as  his  wound  would  permit,  he  was  at 
once  made  brigadier-general  and  soon  thereafter  a  major-general, 
and  from  that  time  to  the  end  of  the  war  his  plume  always  showed 
in  the  lead,  where  the  calm  judgment  of  a  soldier  was  needed  or 
the  dash  of  a  knight  ready  to  face  any  odds  was  called  for. 

The  same  cannon  ball  that  maimed  General  Butler  for  life  cut 
off  Captain  Farley's  leg  above  the  knee ;  Butler  began  to  staunch 
the  blood  with  his  handkerchief  and  advised  Farley  how  to  do 
the  same.  Captain  Chestnut,  Lieutenant  Rhett  and  other  officers 
came  running  to  Butler's  aid,  but  at  that  moment  he  observed 
that  Farley's  dying  horse  was  struggling  and  seemed  likely  to 
crush  the  rider.  "Go  at  once  to  Farley,"  cried  Butler ;  "he  needs 
you  more  than  I  do."  They  did  as  they  were  bidden,  and  as 
Farley  was  placed  on  a  litter  he  asked  them  to  bring  his  leg  and 
put  it,  too,  on  the  litter.  Then  he  said,  "Now,  gentlemen,  you  have 
done  all  for  me  that  is  possible.  I  shall  be  dead  in  an  hour ;  God 
bless  you  for  your  kindness.  I  bid  you  all  an  affectionate  fare 
well.  Go  at  once  to  Butler."  That  evening  General  Butler's  leg 
was  dressed  in  the  hospital  just  as  poor  Farley  breathed  his  last. 
"Henceforth  we  shall  not  need  to  go  to  Sir  Phillip  Sidney  for  an 
example  of  noble  self-sacrifice." 


54  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

General  Butler  never  ordered  a  soldier  to  go  where  he  would 
not  go  himself.  He  loved  his  brave  men  and  they  loved  him.  He 
is  one  of  the  coolest  men  in  danger  that  was  ever  seen  in  battle. 
On  the  morning  of  the  27th  October,  1864,  be  got  very  angry 
with  a  man  named  Hunter,  who,  among  others,  was  leading  some 
horses  too  fast  to  the  rear  belonging  to  some  dismounted  men  on 
"picket  who  were  stubbornly  contesting  every  inch  of  ground  with 
Hancock's  advancing  columns.  After  the  riot  act  was  so 
thoroughly  read  to  Hunter  by  the  General  he  (Hunter)  behaved 
well  during  the  rest  of  the  day. 

It  was  at  the  battle  of  Reams  Station,  25th  August,  1864,  that 
General  Butler  won  his  spurs  as  major-general,  when  his  dis 
mounted  cavalry  took  breastwork  after  breastwork  and  were 
complimented  by  A.  P.  Hill's  gallant  veterans.  The  scenes  of  that 
battle  are  so  vivid  and  grand  that  it  seems  like  yesterday  to  some 
who  participated  in  it,  and  yet  these  yesterdays  are 

"Gone?  yet  with  us  still  they  stay, 

And  their  memories  throb  through  life ; 
The  music  that  hushes  or  stirs  today 
Is  toned  by  their  calm  or  strife." 

"Gone?  and  yet  they  never  go, 

We  kneel  at  the  shrine  of  Time ; 
'Tis  a  mystery  no  man  may  know, 
Nor  tell  in  a  poet's  rhyme." 

General  Butler's  devotion  to  his  men  was  beautiful  to  behold. 
He  noticed  a  sick  soldier  one  day  on  the  battlefield  and  said  to 
him:  "Where  will  you  sleep  tonight?"  "On  the  wet  ground, 
General,"  was  the  reply.  "Why,"  he  said,  "without  tent  or  other 
covering  you  will  die.  I  Will  go  to  that  house  over  yonder  and 
engage  a  room  for  us  tonight,  and  you  will  sleep  with  me."  General 
Butler's  heart  is  as  great,  and  cast  in  a  mould  as  gigantic  as  his 
mind,  hence  a  mean  motive  never  entered  his  heart.  In  the 
secrecy  of  private  life  he  is  as  tender  as  a  child  and  as  demon 
strative  as  an  affectionate  woman.  His  manner  is  singularly 
gentle  and  courteous,  while  his  bearing  is  so  elevated  and  firm  as 
to  command  respect,  confidence  and  attachment — the  many  high 
instincts  and  impulses  of  his  nature  seem  to  be  harmoniously 
blended  and  educated  into  principle. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  55 

Ex-Governor  Perry,  in  writing  to  a  friend,  says  that  there  was 
no  officer  of  the  Confederate  Army  more  gallant  or  heroic  than 
General  Butler.  In  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  under  Lee,  the 
scrupulously  honorable  conduct  of  General  Butler  towards  the 
citizens  of  the  country  through  which  the  Confederate  Army  was 
passing  drew  from  them  the  highest  admiration,  and  since  the  war 
he  has  received  their  grateful  thanks.  One  of  the  coolest  things 
that  was  done  during  the  War  Between  the  States  was  accom 
plished  by  General  Butler  on  the  9th  March,  1865,  when  he  rode 
up  to  General  Kilpatrick's  picket  post  about  dark  and  told  them 
that  he  was  General  Butler,  and  if  a  gun  was  fired  he  would  have 
them  shot.  They  did  not  shoot,  but  surrendered,  and  said  that 
they  belonged  to  the  Fifth  Kentucky  Cavalry,  and  the  next  morn 
ing,  10th  of  March,  was  when  Butler  rode  over  Kilpatrick's 
sleeping  troopers  and  made  Kilpatrick  fly  for  his  life.  Kilpatrick 
said  he  was  surprised  when  he  heard  the  rebel  yell  in  his  camp. 
After  the  war,  General  Butler  came  home  to  the  desolation 
and  poverty  that  inflicted  his  country  and  people  and  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  without  a  cent  of  money  and  with 
nothing  but  honor  and  brains.  In  the  language  of  Ex- Governor 
Perry:  "At  the  bar  General  Butler  has  shown  in  the  argument 
of  his  cases  great  learning  and  the  most  brilliant  talents  as  an 
advocate.  In  a  celebrated  libel  case  tried  at  Greenville  some  time 
during  the  Radical  regime  in  South  Carolina  his  speech  was  said 
to  be,  by  competent  judges,  the  most  forcible  and  finished  argu 
ment  they  had  ever  heard  in  a  court  of  justice.  Persons  who  had 
witnessed  a  similar  trial  at  Anderson,  in  which  Governor 
McDuffie  made  one  of  his  greatest  efforts,  say,  without  hesitation, 
that  General  Butler's  speech  was  greatly  superior  in  every  respect 
— more  brilliant,  more  logical,  more  eloquent,  more  learned  and 
more  conclusive." 

The  case  referred  to  was  W.  E.  Earle  against  Bailey,  proprietor 
of  the  Greenville  Enterprise,  edited  by  S.  S.  Crittenden,  a  civil 
action  for  damages  for  libel  and  defamation  of  character,  tried 
in  April,  1876.  The  plaintiff's  attorneys  were  Samuel  McGowan, 
W.  D.  Simpson  and  J.  S.  Cothran.  The  defendant  was  repre 
sented  by  M.  C.  Butler,  M.  L.  Bonham  and  Wm.  H.  Perry.  When 
General  Butler  had  taken  his  seat  after  the  conclusion  of  his 


56  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

argument,  W.  D.  Simpson,  afterwards  chief  justice,  sent  him  the 
following  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  bar: 

"Dear  Butler: 

"That  was  the  most  powerful  specimen  of  forensic  eloquence  that  I 
have  ever  heard,  and  I  congratulate  you  most  sincerely. 

"W.  D.  SIMPSON." 

The  ravages  and  demoralization  of  the  war  on  the  South  have 
been  too  well  told.  Of  course  the  aliens,  carpetbaggers,  thieves, 
etc.,  etc.,  scooped  down  on  the  helpless  people  and  were  more 
ruthless  than  the  Pict,  more  faithless  than  the  Saxon,  more 
furious  than  the  Vandal  and  more  savage  than  all.  These  aliens, 
carpetbaggers  and  thieves  invaded  our  soil  and  made  desolate  our 
land.  They  first  invaded  and  laid  waste  their  own  consciences, 
and  thus  made  reckless  and  desperate  they  destroyed  our  property, 
murdered  our  citizens  and  tried  to  steal  everything  in  sight.  Our 
people  were  subjected  to  the  examination  of  United  States  com 
missioners  notoriously  venal  and  cruel.  No  opportunity  was 
allowed  them  to  prove  their  innocence;  the  slightest  pretext 
sufficed  to  arouse  suspicion,  and,  when  this  occurred,  the  arrest 
followed.  Henceforth  the  prisoner  was  allowed  no  intercourse 
with  his  family;  his  papers  were  seized,  his  companions  threat 
ened;  allowed  only  inadequate  food;  and  when  sleep,  brought  on 
by  exhaustion  consequent  on  these  cruelties,  came  to  his  relief, 
he  was  suddenly  aroused  at  midnight  and  urged,  while  in  a  state 
of  half-somnolency,  to  confess,  to  give  up  the  name  of  a  comrade, 
or  to  sign  a  paper  which  would  prove  his  ruin.  During  these 
terrible  days  General  Butler  was  prominent  in  his  efforts  to  free 
his  people  from  the  spoilsmen  who  urged  the  poor,  free,  helpless 
negroes  on  to  murder,  arson  and  the  most  terrible  iniquitous  out 
rages  ever  known  in  the  /history  of  any  free  country.  He,  with 
other  leaders,  argued,  pleaded  and  pursued  every  conservative 
plan  that  could  be  suggested.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  run  on 
a  reform  ticket  with  Judge  Carpenter,  who  was  a  Republican, 
hoping  to  bring  about  a  better  state  of  affairs ;  he  was  defeated  in 
this  most  hazardous  campaign.  Reason,  argument  and  every 
other  peaceful  plan  was  proposed  with  the  hope  of  dividing  the 

negro  votes. 

"Peace   hath   her   victories 
No  less  renowned  than  War." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  57 

At  last  General  M.  W.  Gary,  also  from  Edgefield,  a  patriotic, 
able  man  who  made  a  gallant  record  in  the  war,  with  General 
Butler  introduced  what  is  known  to  every  South  Carolinian  as 
the  Straight-out  movement.  They  called  General  Hampton  from 
his  Mississippi  plantation  and  helped  to  nominate  him  for  gov 
ernor,  and  he  was  elected.  But  for  General  Gary  and  General 
Butler  most  probably  General  Hampton  would  have  remained  in 
obscurity  on  his  Mississippi  possessions.  General  Butler,  after 
the  victory  of  1876,  with  other  leading  men  became  heroes.  He 
went  quietly  back  to  his  professional  work  after  the  hardships 
and  trials  of  1876.  He  was  called  from  the  quiet  walks  of  life  and 
put  in  nomination  for  the  United  States  senate  and  was  unani- 
mousty  elected  by  the  South  Carolina  Legislature.  His  seat  was 
contested  by  one  Corbin,  a  carpetbagger,  but  General  Butler  got 
it  after  two  years'  contest. 

In  1876  General  Butler  was  employed  to  prosecute  a  negro 
military  company  who  refused  to  allow  white  men  to  pass  through 
the  streets  of  Hamburg,  S.  C.  The  negroes  defied  the  law  and 
killed  a  young  white  man  belonging  to  one  of  the  best  families 
in  the  State,  and  this  dastardly  act  brought  on  a  riot  in  which  the 
negroes  »were  repulsed,  and  but  for  General  Butler's  presence 
quite  a  number  of  these  misguided  negrooes  would  have  been 
killed.  He  was  mercilessly  slandered  all  over  the  country  until 
he  had  an  opportunity  to  explain  while  in  Washington  that  his 
only  weapon  was  a  law  book,  and  did  more  to  preserve  the  peace 
and  keep  order  than  any  other  man  in  the  State  could  have  done, 
as  he  was  the  idol  of  the  white  people. 

His  career  as  a  statesman  began  with  his  entrance  into  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States.  General  Hampton  was  his  colleague 
for  twelve  years.  General  Butler  did  good  work,  debating  and 
battling  for  South  Carolina  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  was 
considered  one  of  the  ablest  and  the  handsomest  man  in  the 
Senate.  He  was  defeated  in  1894 — stumped  the  State  and  made 
the  most  gallant  fight  that  could  have  been  fought  by  any  man. 
He  wrote  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  State  Democratic  Execu 
tive  Committee  urging  said  committee  to  allow  the  Democratic 
voters  to  cast  their  ballots  for  their  choice  for  United  States 
senator  in  a  separate  box.  The  letter  was  handed  to  the  secre 
tary  of  the  Executive  Committee  on  the  17th  day  of  June,  1894, 


58  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  day  before  the  campaign  was  opened  at  Rock  Hill.  No 
answer  has  ever  been  received  by  General  Butler  to  his  letter 
making  this  just  request.  The  political  machinery  being  at  the 
time  in  the  hands  of  his  opponents,  the  people  were  denied  the 
right  of  casting  a  ballot  direct  for  their  choice  for  the  Senate,  as 
they  now  have  in  the  Democratic  primary. 

General  Butler  was  a  patriot  when  he  entered  the  Senate  and 
came  out  a  national  patriot.  He  left  a  high,  honorable  and 
patriotic  record.  He  did  not  propound  any  visionary  theories 
relating  to  the  government,  but  he  ably  sustained  himself  and  the 
honor  of  the  body  politic  of  his  State  and  the  nation  at  large.  He 
ably  repelled  in  debate  every  assault  made  on  his  Southland  by 
prejudice  and  bitter  partisan  politicians.  General  Butler  man 
aged  by  his  tact  and  magnetism  to  have  and  hold  his  warmest 
friendships  among  the  Republicans. 

After  being  nominated  once  in  an  open  and  fair  fight  before 
the  Legislature,  opposed  by  the  ablest  and  most  prominent  men 
in  South  Carolina,  viz. :  McGowan,  Connor,  Gary  and  Youmans, 
afterwards  he  was  nominated  by  acclamation  twice.  General 
Butler  has  often  said  that  after  his  first  term  he  would  willingly 
retire  but  for  the  feeling  of  duty  to  the  call  of  his  country.  In 
battle  he  is  the  bravest  of  the  brave;  in  domestic  and  social  life 
the  gentlest  of  the  gentle  and  the  tenderest  of  the  tender. 

"Great  in  his  triumphs,  in  retirement  great." 

A  few  months  after  he  retired  from  the  Senate  he  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  two  distinguished  lawyers  in  the  city  of  Wash 
ington,  D.  C.,  under  the  firm  name  of  Shelley,  Butler  &  Martin. 
This  new  firm  did  a  very  lucrative  business,  and  it  was  wrhile  thus 
pursuing  the  even  tenor  of  his  way  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  appointed  him  major-general  in  the  United  States 
Army,  and  his  confirmation  as  such  was  unanimous  by  the  Senate 
— not  even  referred  to  a  committee — and  he  was  commissioned 
28th  May,  1898.  Thus  we  see  the  young  and  gallant  major-general 
of  Confederate  Cavalry  leading  his  ragged  veterans  on  to  vic 
tory  at  the  battles  of  Reams  Station,  25th  August,  and  Bergesse's 
Mill,  27th  October,  1864,  thirty-four  years  afterwards  a  major- 
general  in  the  United  States  Army,  commanding  the  Second 
Army  Corps.  And  owing  to  his  long  service  as  a  member  of  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  59 

United  States  Senate  and  his  thorough  knowledge  of  diplomacy 
he  has  been  appointed  on  the  Cuban  Peace  Commission  and  is 
now  (1898-1899)  attending  to  his  arduous  duties  at  Havana. 

General  Butler  is  one  of  the  most  charitable  of  men — always 
throwing  the  mantle  of  charity  around  some  unfortunates  who 
had  fallen  by  the  roadside.  There  is  no  general  today  who  is 
more  devoted  to  the  Confederate  soldier  than  he.  God  alone 
knows  how  many  times  he  has  helped  old  soldiers,  whether  they 
wore  the  blue  or  the  gray,  when  overtaken  by  old  age,  disease 
and  old  wounds  or  some  other  cause. 

"Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three ;  but  the  greatest 
of  these  is  charity." 


M.  C.  BUTLER. 

[From  The  Evening  Record,  March  8,  1£09.] 

To  that  gallant  soldier,  patriotic  statesman  and  delightful  gen 
tleman,  M.  C.  Butler,  on  the  73rd  anniversary  of  his  birth,  long 
life,  good  health  and  happiness ! 

Much  history  has  been  written  since  M.  C.  Butler  first  saw  the 
light,  on  that  beautiful  hillside  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and 
in  the  making  of  that  history  he  has  played  a  conspicuous  and  an 
honorable  part.  Among  the  first  to  volunteer  in  1861,  he  attained 
a  rank  which  few  of  his  years  could  hope  to  reach,  and  that  only 
by  worth  and  gallantry.  After  that  struggle  he  was  foremost  in 
upbuilding  what  had  been  laid  waste,  and  his  services  again 
received  their  due  reward.  In  a  still  later  struggle,  he  was  chosen, 
as  the  representative  of  the  South 's  soldiery,  for  high  command  in 
the  army  of  a  reunited  nation. 

The  battles  of  youth  are  over  now,  and  this  soldier,  statesman 
and  gentleman  has  reached  the  age  where  he  seeks  only  peace  and 
comfort.  May  he  find  both  in  their  richest  fullness. 


DEATH    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    M.    C.    BUTLER. 

[Died  14th  of  April,  1909.] 

Matthew  Calbraith  Butler,  noble,  valiant,  distinguished,  all- 
beloved  son  of  Edgefield,  lies  dead  in  Columbia. 

The  passing  of  any  set  of  actors  in  great  public  events  from  the 
stage  of  life  always  awakens  in  the  human  breast  tender  emotions 


60  Bl  TLER   AND    HlS   CAVALRY,   1861-1865. 

of  reverence  and  regret.  The  last  survivor  of  the  Thermopylse 
closed  his  eyes  in  eternal  sleep  amid  the  lamentations  of  the  most 
chivalrous  of  heroic  Sparta.  The  passing  out  of  the  last  of  the 
glorious  "six  hundred"  who  made  Balaklava  immortal  caused  a 
sigh  to  swell  the  bosom  of  the  most  reverent  worshipper  at  the 
shrine  of  valor.  The  dying  of  the  lone  survivor  of  the  "Old 
Guard"  brought  a  tear  to  the  eye  of  every  Frenchman  who  gloried 
in  the  brilliant  record  of  Napoleon.  The  last  survivor  of  those 
who  dared  to  sign  the  Declaration  of  Independence  went  down  to 
his  final  rest  amid  the  lamentations  of  a  devoted  country,  which 
dates  its  birth  at  the  moment  when  his  hand  had  set  its  seal  to  the 
most  important  document  executed  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  funeral  dirge  of  the  last  patriot  of  the  army  of  Washing 
ton  touched  the  tender  sympathies  of  the  young  Republic  and 
awoke  emotions  of  patriotic  repining  that  the  last  of  the  army 
which  achieved  the  independence  of  this  great  nation  had  folded 
his  arms  and  had  passed  from  earth  to  join  his  long  lost  comrades, 
and  that,  of  all  the  Continental  army,  there  remained  not  one  to 
see  the  glories  that  were  to  come,  or  to  recount  to  posterity,  which 
had  come  up  to  possess  the  land,  the  story  of  its  redemption. 

As  these  men  were  remembered  and  honored,  so  let  Edgefield 
remember  and  honor  Matthew  Calbraith  Butler. — James  T. 
Bacon. 


GENERAL  BUTLER. 

Banners  drooping  low  o'er  the  Hero's  head. 

Laurel  leaves  are  falling,  gently,  slowly, 
Upon  the  bier  of  Carolina's  dead, 

And  veterans  weep,  for  thy  tears  are  holy. 

Oh  !  knightly  Warrior !  no  more !  no  more  ! 

Will  thy  tranquil  eyes  look  on  sabre's  flash; 
No  more  you'll  hear  the  cannon's  awful  roar 

Or  soldier's  moan,  'mid  battle's  din  and  crash. 

For  the  tender  Shepherd,  the  "Prince  of  Peace," 
Hath  softly  touched  thy  noble,  God-like  brow, 

And  gives  to  thee  from  all  thy  pains  surcease 
And  bids  the  Soldier,  "Rest  arms !  slumber  now." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  61 

In  story  and  in  song,  the  Hero's  name 

Will  live,  and  banners  with  their  weight  of  tears 
Droop  low,  for  ah !  the  glory  of  his  fame 
And  valiant  deeds  will  outlive  all  the  years. 

ELLIE  BROOKS  JONES. 
15  April,  1909. 


[From  The  State,  April  2,  1900.] 

Was  ever  there  a  more  brilliant  young  general  than  Matthew 
Calbraith  Butler?  Was  ever  there  a  more  daring,  more  dashing, 
and  yet  more  thoughtful  cavalry  leader?  Did  not  his  personal 
bravery  add  lustre  to  the  achievements  in  battle  of  Southern 
soldier}^?  Therefore  should  he  not  be  heard  when  he  speaks  of 
those  times  ? 

Yesterday,  pain  racked  as  he  is,  on  a  bed  of  illness  in  which 
he  is  fighting  with  coolness  and  gallantry,  perhaps  another  losing 
fight,  he  thought  again  of  the  cause  of  erecting  a  monument  to  the 
women  of  the  Confederacy,  which  cause  already  he  has  indorsed 
and  espoused,  and  sent  his  check  for  $10  with  the  expressed  hope 
that  soon,  yea  very  soon,  his  comrades  all  and  their  sons  would 
give  according  to  their  means. 


62  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


EDGEFIELD  HUSSARS 

Edgefield,  S.  C.,  Thursday,  June  6,  1861. 

The  "Edgefield  Hussars,-'  commanded  by  Captain  M.  C.  Butler, 
left  here  today  for  Columbia  to  join  the  Hampton  Legion.  The 
company  numbered  about  fifty,  but  are  to  be  joined  on  their 
route  by  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  more.  A  large  turnout  of 
citizens,  including  a  brilliant  array  of  ladies,  honored  the  hour 
of  departure  of  this  company  of  gallant  troopers  with  their 
presence,  it  having  become  known  that  the  company  would  leave 
here  in  a  body.  At  half-past  ten  o'clock  the  company  was  formed 
in  front  of  the  Planter's  Hotel  on  the  public  square,  which  was 
full  of  the  fair  sex,  and  Captain  A.  J.  Hammond,  formerly  cap 
tain  of  the  Hussars,  addressed  the  company  in  a  most  appro 
priate  and  forcible  speech.  His  remarks  filled  the  company  with 
emotions  and  melted  his  audience  to  tears.  He  was  accompanied 
in  his  position  before  the  company  by  the  venerable  and  patriotic 
Major  George  Boswell,  who  in  years  gone  by  commanded  the 
Hussars. 

After  Captain  Hammond  concluded  his  soul-stirring  speech, 
Captain  M.  C.  Butler  came  forward,  mounted  on  his  spirited 
steed,  in  his  brilliant  uniform,  the  picture  of  a  soldier,  and  said 
in  substance: 

"Ladies  and  Fellow- Country  men :  The  feeling  and  patriotic 
remarks  of  Captain  Hammond,  to  which  we  have  just  listened, 
certainly  is  cheering  to  us,  and  in  behalf  of  this  company,  which 
I  have  the  honor  to  command,  I  thank  him  and  this  lovely  array 
of  our  beautiful  women  who  have  honored  us  today  with  their 
presence.  In  these  ranks  many  of  you  have  sweethearts,  brothers 
and  husbands,  and  we  go  to  the  tented  fields  in  the  defense  of 
our  homes  and  firesides  against  the  invasion  of  the  hireling  foe, 
whose  only  desire  is  for  beauty  and  booty.  We  will  go  to  the 
front,  remembering  that  we  are  all  Carolinians,  and  we  will 
return  as  honored  soldiers  or  fill  a  soldier's  grave.  We  thank  you 
for  your  deep  sympathies.  It  is  ours  to  act,  and  not  to  speak. 
You  will  hear  from  us.  Farewell !" 

The  Hussars  then  filed  off  and  left  amid  the  adieu  of  their 
many  friends. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  63 


THE  WAR  RECORD  OF  TWO  BRAVE  CONFED 
ERATES,  A  CAPTAIN  AND  A  PRIVATE,  AND 
A  COLLOQUY  BETWEEN  A  MAJOR 
AND  A  SERGEANT 

There  were  days  when  the  Confederate  soldier  was  not  certain 
whether  he  would  dine  or  not,  but,  being  mostly  young,  he  was 
hopeful,  and  being  hopeful,  courageous. 


It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  certify  to  the  record  of  Captain  John 
Meighan,  Troop  C.  Second  South  Carolina  Regiment,  Confederate  States 
Army,  as  one  of  good  and  efficient  service  rendered  throughout  the  War 
between  the  States  North  and  South. 

I  knew  Captain  Meighan  from  the  date  of  the  assignment  of  his  regiment 
to  the  command  of  General  Wade  Hampton  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  first  as  part  of  the  Hampton  Legion  Cavalry,  afterwards  as  part  of 
the  first  brigade  of  cavalry,  known  as  Hampton's  Brigade,  afterwards  as 
part  of  the  First  (Hampton's)  Cavalry,  Division  Army  Northern  Virginia. 

I  was  at  first  adjutant  of  the  Hampton  Legion,  then  adjutant-general  of 
Hampton's  Cavalry  Brigade  and  afterwards  adjutant-general  of  the  First 
(Hampton's)  Division  of  the  Cavalry  Corps  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  and  in  these  official  positions  I  knew  of  Captain  Meighan's  service 
and  of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  General  Hampton  and  his 
other  commanding  officers  as  well  as  by  his  brother  officers  and  the  men  of 
his  own  troop  and  regiment,  as  well  as  those  of  other  dommands  in  the 
service — and  am  able  to  testify  to  his  four  years  of  gallant,  patriotic  and 
devoted  as  well  as  efficient  service. 

(Signed)     THEODORE  G.  BARKER. 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  1  Feby.,  1905. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  add  my  testimony  to  that  of  Major  Theodore 
G.  Barker,  the  former  adjutant  of  the  Hampton  Legion  and  later  adjutant- 
general  of  Hampton's  Cavalry  Brigade,  A.  N.  V. 

I  knew  Captain  John  Meighan  when  his  troop  was  attached  to  the  Legion. 
I  remember  him  as  captain  of  Troop  "C,"  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry, 
Hampton's  old  brigade,  and  I  can  most  cheerfully  endorse  the  sentiment 
expressed  in  the  certificate  annexed. 

His  gallantry  was  recognized  throughout  the  Cavalry  Corps  of  the  "Army 
of  Northern  Virginia." 

(Signed)      B.  W.  TAYLOR, 
Asst.  Surgeon  Hampton  Legion. 
Surgeon  Hampton's  old  Brigade. 
Surgeon  Hampton's  Division. 
Surgeon  Hampton's  Corps. 
Columbia,  S.  C.,  May  8,  1905. 


64  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Captain  John  Meighan,  Troop  "C,"  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  served 
under  my  command  in  the  "Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  C.  S.  A."  During 
the  War  Between  the  States  there  was  no  braver,  more  faithful,  conscien 
tious  officer  or  soldier  in  the  Confederate  Army.  Always  ready  to  discharge 
his  full  duty  in  any  emergency,  whether  in  battle  or  otherwise.  I  justly 
and  confidently  relied  upon  his  courage,  judgment^  and  pluck  under  all 
circumstances,  and  cherish  his  memory  as  a  gallant  comrade  and  friend. 

(Signed)     M.  C.  BUTLER, 

Maj.  Gen'l.,  C.  S.  A. 
November  15,  1905. 


John  Meighan  commenced  his  service  in  the  Confederate  Army  as  First 
Lieutenant  "Congaree  Mounted  Riflemen"  of  Columbia,  S.  C.  The  company 
was  first  ordered  to  Charleston  prior  to  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter.  After  the 
reduction  of  that  fort  Colonel  Wade  Hampton  was  authorized  to  raise  a 
legion  consisting  of  cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery.  This  was  accomplished, 
and  this  company  became  a  part  of  the  cavalry  constituting  that  legion. 
After  the  first  battle  of  Manassas  it  had  been  determined  to  create  a 
brigade  of  cavalry,  which  Wade  Hampton  was  to  command ;  however,  the 
plan  did  not  materialize  until  after  the  great  battle  of  Seven  Pines.  For 
gallantry  displayed  by  Hampton  and  the  Legion,  the  commission  of  briga 
dier  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States. 
The  cavalry  of  the  legion  was  consolidated  with  other  companies,  and 
became  the  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  M.  C.  Butler  became  colonel 
September,  1862;  Frank  Hampton  lieutenant-colonel.  At  the  battle  of 
Brandy  Station,  in  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  a  Yankee  officer,  Colonel 
Frank  Hampton  was  shot  through  and  through  the  body  by  another  Yankee 
private  who  attacked  him  from  the  rear.  Colonel  Hampton  rode  nearly  a 
half  mile  before  his  horse  fell  under  him,  both  horse  and  master  died  from 
wounds  received  that  day.  This  battle  occurred  June  the  9th,  18(33.  I 
mention  this  incident  because  Colonel  Hampton  and  Captain  Meighan  had 
been  friends  for  years.  The  regiment  served  in  Virginia  until  Butler's  new 
brigade  relieved  them  in  1864  here  in  Columbia.  The  Second  Cavalry  were 
then  ordered  to  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  where  they  did  splendid 
service  until  Sherman's  advance  through  the  Carolinas,  when  they  were 
ordered  to  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  ,and  finally  surrendered  with  Johnston's  Army 
at  Greensboro,  26th  April,  1865. 

This  anecdote  was  told  me  by  General  Hampton  more  than  once. 

In  1862  as  Hampton  was  withdrawing  through  the  streets  of  Frederick, 
Md.,  the  Yankees  pressed  so  closely  upon  his  rear  with  infantry  and 
artillery  that  he  found  it  necessary  to  check  their  pursuit  in  order  to  insure 
orderly  withdrawal  of  his  brigade.  The  Yanks  had  planted  a  gun  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  city  and  were  firing  along  the  street  through  which  Hampton 
must  pass.  The  gun  was  supported  by  the  Thirtieth  Ohio  Infantry  and  by 
two  companies  of  cavalry.  Colonel  M.  C.  Butler,  of  the  Second  South  Caro 
lina  Cavalry,  was  directed  to  attack. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  65 

Captain  Meighan's  squadron  made  the  charge,  supported  by  the  brigade 
provost  guard  of  forty  men,  under  Captain  J.  F.  Waring.  Captain  John 
Meighan  rode  over  the  gun,  dispersed  its  support,  and  captured  the  officer 
in  command  (Colonel  Morse  of  the  Thirtieth  Ohio)  and  seven  other  pris 
oners.  He  might  have  brought  off  the  gun  had  not  five  of  its  horses  been 
killed  in  the  fight.  This  sharp  action  protected  Hampton's  rear,  and  his 
brigade  was  slowly  withdrawn  to  Middletown,  leaving  the  Jeff  Davis 
Legion  and  two  guns,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  W.  T.  Martin,  to  hold  the 
gap  in  the  Catectin  Mountain. 

(Signed)     WADE  HAMPTON  MANNING, 
"Orderly"  Lieutenant-General  Wade  Hampton. 
Columbia,  S.  C.,  4  March,  1905. 

Major  John  Meighan  was  born  in  Drogheda,  Ireland,  llth 
December,  1817,  and  came  to  Columbia,  S.  C.,  in  1845.  When  the 
war  lighted  up  he  was  a  member  of  the  large  shoe  firm  of  G.  M. 
Thomson  &  Co.  He  died  29th  June,  1901.  His  devoted  wife,  two 
accomplished  daughters  and  his  handsome  son.  Major  Hugh 
Meighan,  the  cashier  of  the  Carolina  National  Bank,  survive  him. 
Major  John  Meighan  was  the  very  soul  of  honor. 


A  Short  Sketch  of  the  Confederate  Services  of  Gallant  Phil 
Hutchinson,  "The  Scout** 

When  South  Carolina  seceded  on  the  20th  December,  I860,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  heard  about  it  on  the  22nd,  and  on  the  23rd 
he  mounted  his  horse  and  joined  the  Rutledge  Mounted  Riflemen, 
which  was  raised  by  Captain  W.  L.  Trenholm.  He  remained  with 
this  command  until  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter.  The  Yankees 
being  scarce  in  South  Carolina  then,  he  left  this  command  and 
enlisted  in  the  Washington  Light  Artillery,  of  the  Hampton 
Legion,  Stephen  D.  Lee,  captain.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
Legion,  this  glorious  command  was  ordered  to  Virginia,  where 
Phil  Hutchinson  remained  until  after  the  seven  days'  battles 
around  Richmond.  McClellan's  Army  being  shattered,  he 
resigned  as  lieutenant  in  this  battery,  afterwards  known  as  Hart's 
famous  battery,  and  returned  to  South  Carolina  and  joined  the 
Charleston  Light  Dragoons  as  a  private  in  that  famous  and  his 
toric  old  troop — the  oldest  in  the  United  States  (organized  in 
1733),  which  was  known  as  Troop  "K,"  Fourth  South  Carolina 
Cavalry,  of  Butler's  old  brigade. 

5— B.    C. 


66  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

On  the  22d  October,  1862,  the  battle  of  Pocotaligo  was  fought 
by  Colonel  W.  S.  Walker  with  a  small  force  of  infantry,  dis 
mounted  cavalry  and  sections  from  two  batteries  of  artillery, 
amounting  in  all  to  675  men  and  officers.  A  Federal  force  of 
4,448  of  all  arms,  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Bran- 
nan,  met  them.  Walker's  force  consisted  of  a  part  of  Nelson's 
battery,  two  sections  of  Elliott's  battery  and  the  following  com 
mands  :  Major  J.  H.  Morgan's  Battalion  of  Cavalry,  the  Charles 
ton  Light  Dragoons,  Captain  Kirk's  Partisan  Rangers,  Captain 
Allston's  Company  of  Sharpshooters,  Captain  D.  B.  Heyward's 
Company  of  Cavalry,  and  Captain  A.  C.  Izard's  Company  of  the 
Eleventh  South  Carolina  Infantry.  Major  Joseph  Abney,  with 
two  companies  of  his  battalion  of  sharpshooters,  did  excellent 
work. 

Nelson's  battalion  came  up  just  in  time,  200  strong,  under  Cap 
tain  W.  H.  Sligh,  on  Walker's  right  and  swelled  the  gallant  little 
band  to  about  800  men.  Half  of  Sligh's  command,  under  Captain 
J.  H.  Brooks,  took  position  and  opened  fire  from  the  woods 
fringing  the  Pocotaligo  River.  All  of  these  troops  behaved  gal 
lantly. 

Phil  Hutchinson  was  curious  to  know  how  many  Yankees  were 
in  the  fight,  so  he  walked  along  a  causeway  which  looked  like 
certain  death  to  attempt.  He  got  a  good  view  of  the  Yankees, 
and  they  got  a  better  one  of  him,  and  fortunately  they  did  not 
kill  him.  He  promptly  reported  the  Yankee  situation  to  Colonel 
Walker,  who  then  knew  exactly  where  to  concentrate  his  fire, 
which  made  General  Brannan  retire  to  his  gunboats  in  quick 
order. 

Major  Morgan  was  severely  wounded  in  this  fight  and  was  one 
of  the  best  officers  in  Butler's  old  brigade.  He  was  shot  in  the 
heel  in  the  battle  of  Gravel  Run,  Virginia,  23d  August,  1864. 
After  his  leg  was  amputated,  he  said  immediately  to  Wallace 
Miller :  "I  can  kick  like  hell  with  the  stump  yet,  Wallace." 

General  M.  C.  Butler  was  made  a  brigadier-general  on  the  1st 
September,  1863,  and  selected  from  the  coast  of  South  Carolina 
three  cavalry  regiments,  the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth,  which  was 
known  throughout  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  as  Butler's 
famous  brigade. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  67 

In  the  battle  of  Hawes  Shop,  which  occurred  on  Saturday,  the 
28tu  May,  1864,  Phil  Hutchinson  behaved  with  much  distinction 
until  late  in  the  day,  when  he  received  a  wound  that  laid  him  up 
for  three  months.  Upon  his  return  to  the  "Army  of  Northern 
Virginia"  General  Hampton  appointed  him  as  one  of  his  scouts. 
When  a  man  got  such  appointment  from  Hampton  or  Butler  it 
simply  meant  he  was  cool  and  courageous  at  all  times.  No 
ordinary  man  could  fill  the  position. 

During  Phil's  absence  his  friend  J.  W.  Boone  took  charge  of 
his  horse,  and  was  killed  and  his  horse  lost.  So  this  scout  imme 
diately  bought  a  horse  for  one  thousand  and  fifty  dollars,  and 
after  receiving  the  necessary  passports  went  forward  to  join 
Sergeant  Shadbourne,  and  after  wandering  and  hunting  between 
the  lines  for  two  days  he  succeeded  in  locating  and  joining  Shad- 
bourne.  They  soon  located  a  squad  of  Yankees.  When  the 
charge  was  made,  Phil's  horse  held  a  very  high  head  and  received 
a  bullet  in  his  throat  which  killed  him,  so  he  (Phil)  was  afoot 
again.  The  Yankees  outran  them  and  got  away. 

Just  three  days  later  they  decided  to  charge  a  picket  post,  and 
captured  about  twenty  horses  and  took  the  entire  squad  of 
Yankees  in  out  of  the  dew — I  mean  all  that  were  not  killed  in  the 
fight  got  safely  to  Libby  Prison.  When  the  prisoners  were 
counted,  only  one  answered  to  roll  call.  As  the  Irishman  said, 
"those  that  did  not  surrender  were  speachless."  These  scouts  had 
a  great  many  narrow  escapes.  Whenever  they  would  lose  a  horse, 
they  knew  where  the  Yankee  picket  posts  were  located,  and  lost 
no  time  in  getting  remounts. 

In  April,  1864,  General  Hampton  saw  Wallace  Miller  in 
Columbia,  S.  C.,  on  a  beautiful  thoroughbred  mare  and  suggested 
that  as  he  was  going  back  to  Virginia  as  a  scout  to  return  the 
animal  to  the  plantation  to  raise  colts,  for  the  war  would  last 
at  least  ten  years  longer,  and  also  said  to  Miller  that  the  Yankees 
had  good  horses,  and  "you  scouts  know  how  to  get  them,"  and  he 
acted  as  suggested. 

Phil  Hutchinson  had  accomplished  such  good  work  that  in 
December,  1864,  General  Hampton  approved  his  application  for 
a  short  furlough.  Soon  after  the  furlough  was  granted,  Hampton 
and  Butler  were  ordered  to  Columbia,  S.  C.,  where  Phil  and  his 
brother  scout,  Joel  R.  Adams,  reported  to  headquarters  with  fresh 


68  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

horses,  and  with  other  scouts  kept  Hampton  and  Butler  thor 
oughly  posted  as  to  the  movements  of  the  enemy  from  January, 
at  Columbia,  to  the  end  of  the  war  through  South  and  Xorth 
Carolina.  In  that  beautifully  written  little  book,  a  sketch  of  the 
"Charleston  Light  Dragoons,"  by  Edward  K  Wells,  I  copy  the 
following : 

"The  Dragoons  who  were  with  the  army  were  surrendered  by 
Johnston.  They  were  formed  in  line  and  the  momentous  news 
announced.  Hutchinson  (Phil  Hutchinson),  wrho  had  done 
notably  good  service  at  Pocotaligo,  had  been  wounded  at  Hawes' 
Shop,  and  had  afterwards,  as  already  related,  performed  severe 
duty  as  a  scout,  burst  into  tears,  threw  his  hat  passionately  on 
the  ground,  and  spoke  wild  words.  There  were  many  instances 
of  the  same  kind." 

General  Butler  had  the  most  remarkable  memory  for  faces. 
names,  dates  and  horses. 

The  following  incident,  not  altogether  without  its  humor  and 
pathos,  serves  well  to  illustrate  the  keen  observation  and  thought- 
fulness  of  General  Butler.  Late  one  afternoon  in  May,  1862, 
shortly  after  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  the  Confederate  forces 
having  fallen  back  and  gone  into  temporary  encampment,  Gen 
eral  (then  Major)  M.  C.  Butler,  riding  along  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  cavalry,  met  a  rider  on  a  gray  horse,  with  a  bag  of 
corn  in  front  of  him.  He  accosted  him  and  the  following 
colloquy  took  place : 

"Who  are  you?" 

"I  am  First  Sergeant  Y.  J.  Pope,  of  Company  E,  Third  South 
Carolina  Infantry,  of  Kershaw's  Brigade,  which  is  encamped 
about  a  half-mile  distant." 

"Where  did  you  get  that  horse?" 

"Colonel  William  Drayton  Rutherford,  of  the  Third  South 
Carolina  Regiment,  -captured  him  on  the  battlefield  of  Williams- 
burg,  and  knowing  that  on  account  of  a  spell  of  typhoid  fever  I 
was  unable  to  walk  a  long  distance,  he  turned  the  horse  over  to 
me  that  I  might  keep  up  with  the  regiment." 

"That  horse  belonged  to  one  of  my  men,  Boggs,  of  the  Brooks 
Troop  of  the  Hampton  Cavalry,  who  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of 
Williamsburg.  That  horse  could  be  sold  and  the  money  sent  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  60 

his  widow  at  her  home  in  Greenville,  S.  C.  I  wish,  however,  that 
yon  will  keep  him  until  tomorrow,  when  I  will  send  for  him." 

To  this  the  rider  readily  consented.  He  rode  the  horse  back  to 
camp  and  cared  for  him  during  the  night,  and  next  morning 
turned  him  over  to  General  Butler. 

Little  did  these  two  then  young  soldiers  think  that  they  would 
be  so  severely  wounded  and  survive  the  war  and  fill  with  such 
distinction  two  of  the  highest  positions  within  the  gift  of  the 
people.  The  then  Orderly  Sergeant  Pope  was  fearfully  wounded 
several  times.  His  first  was  received  13th  December,  1862,  at  the 
Battle  of  Fredericksburg ;  at  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  2nd  July, 
1863,  a  bursting  shell  gave  him  four  wounds;  afterwards,  on  the 
19th  September,  1863,  at  the  Battle  of  Chickamauga ;  then  at  the 
Battle  of  Berryville  in  September,  1864,  a  minnie  ball  passed 
through  his  cheek  and  out  of  the  mouth,  and  again  on  the  19th 
October,  1864,  at  Cedar  Run,  Virginia,  when  a  bullet  destroyed 
his  left  eye  and  lodged  in  his  head. 

Since  the  war  he  was  mayor  of  Xewberry,  county  judge  of 
Xewberry,  State  senator,  attorney-general,  associate  justice, 
and  is  now  (1908)  the  able  and  accomplished  chief  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  South  Carolina.  He  is  acknowledged  as  one 
of  the  ablest  .stump  speakers  in  the  South. 

Major  M.  C.  Butler  commenced  his  army  career  as  captain, 
12th  June,  1861;  major,  21st  July,  1861;  colonel  Second  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  22d  August,  1862 ;  brigadier-general,  1st  Sep 
tember,  1863 ;  major-general,  19th  September,  1864 ;  lost  his  right 
leg  9th  June,  1863,  at  the  Battle  of  Brandy  Station.  After  the 
war,  served  eighteen  years  as  United  States  senator  (1877  to  1905) , 
and  on  the  28th  May,  1898,  was  commissioned  by  President 
McKinley  as  major-general  in  the  United  States  Army  in  the 
Spanish- American  war,  and  is  today  one  of  the  most  prominent 
lawyers  and  statesmen  in  the  United  States.  During  the  three 
terms  that  he  served  in  the  Senate,  he  was  the  handsomest  mem 
ber,  the  best  diplomat  that  South  Carolina  ever  sent  to  the  Senate 
and  one  of  the  best  orators,  in  this  the  most  distinguished  body  on 
earth.  By  his  eloquence  and  persistent  work  he  got  the  bill 
through  to  put  the  jettys  in  the  Charleston,  S.  C.,  harbor,  and  did 
more  to  establish  the  navy  of  the  United  States  than  any  other 
man,  except  Senator  Hale. 


70  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


GENERAL  BUTLER'S  NARRATIVE 


Descriptive  of  an   Event  During  the  Evacuation   of  Yorktown 
by  the  Confederates  in  May,  1862 

It  will  be  remembered  that  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who 
at  that  time  commanded  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  with 
drew  his  forces  in  the  winter  of  1862  from  the  lines  in  front  of 
Manassas,  and  reinforced  General  John  B.  Magruder,  in  com 
mand  of  the  troops  on  the  peninsula  of  Virginia,  with  his  head 
quarters  at  or  near  Yorktown. 

Magruder  had  fortified  his  lines  with  very  heavy  earthworks, 
forts  and  entrenchments,  and  they  were  strengthened  on  the 
arrival  of  General  Johnston  with  his  reinforcements,  so  that  from 
the  York  River  on  the  east,  to  the  James  River  on  the  south  and 
west,  there  was  a  strong  line  of  defensive  works.  McClellan,  the 
Federal  commander,  confronted  Johnston  with  a  powerful,  well- 
equipped  and  disciplined  army,  with  his  base  of  operations  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  and  adjacent  points,  supported  by  a  strong 
naval  force  in  the  adjoining  waters.  An  examination  of  the  map 
will  show  what  a  vantage  ground  he  had ;  a  powerful  fortress  and 
vessels  of  war  in  his  immediate  rear,  with  nothing  to  threaten 
or  disturb  his  base  of  supplies,  with  two  large  navigable  rivers  on 
both  of  Johnston's  flanks.  Johnston  had  no  naval  support,  none 
of  account,  with  a  long  line  of  communication  to  his  base,  Rich 
mond. 

McClellan,  however,  must  have  concluded  Johnston's  position 
was  too  strong  to  be  carried  by  direct  assault,  so  he  sat  down  in 
front  of  him,  and  began  a 'siege  by  parallels,  and  no  doubt  would 
eventually  have  prevailed  with  his  great  advantage  of  position 
and  marine  support. 

General  Johnston  realized  McClellan's  superior  strategic  posi 
tion,  with  both  flanks  more  or  less  exposed  to  attack  from  the 
Federal  war  ships,  while  he  was  receiving  an  attack  in  front,  and 
decided  to  evacuate  his  works,  and  move  back  on  Richmond.  The 
retreat  began  on  May  3,  1862.  General  G.  W.  Smith  had  charge 
of  the  line  of  retreat  on  the  York  River  side,  and,  I  believe,  Gen- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  71 

eral  Longstreet  on  the  James  Kiver  side.  At  that  time  I  com 
manded  a  battalion  of  four  companies  of  cavalry,  encamped  at 
Whitaker's  Mill,  about  three  miles  back  of  Yorktown. 

In  the  order  of  march,  I  was  assigned  the  duty  of  bringing  up 
the  rear  of  Smith's  division,  consisting  of  Whiting's,  Hood's  and 
Hampton's  brigades  of  infantry  and  several  batteries  of  light 
artillery.  I  trust  I  may  be  pardoned  for  this  reference  to  myself, 
but  it  is  necessary,  to  make  my  statement  intelligible. 

The  general  order,  of  which  a  copy  was  delivered  to  me, 
directed  that  Whiting,  in  immediate  command  of  his  own,  and 
the  other  two  brigades,  Hood's  and  Hampton's,  should  follow 
D.  H.  Hill's  division,  that  Hill  would  move  at  sunset  on  the 
evening  of  the  3d  of  May,  and  that  I  should  bring  up  Whiting's 
rear  with  the  cavalry.  Whiting  moved  out  about  two  miles  from 
Yorktown  on  the  Williamsburg  road,  and  halted  for  Hill's 
departure.  He  sent  me  in  to  report  when  Hill  had  left.  I  accord 
ingly  rode  into  Yorktown  between  sunset  and  dusk  and  found 
Hill  had  broken  camp.  Everything  was  astir  as  Hill  moved  out, 
and  I  so  reported  to  Whiting.  Here  was  the  beginning  of  my 
troubles  for  the  night. 

As  I  rode  along  the  streets  of  this  antiquated  and  celebrated 
town,  a  small  boy.  I  suppose  some  drummer  boy  of  Hill's  division, 
yelled  out  to  me  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "Look  out,  sir,  a  torpedo 
has  been  planted  in  front  of  you."  I  looked  down  and,  sure 
enough,  just  in  front  of  me  I  discovered  the  fresh  earth  where  the 
boy  said  the  torpedo  had  been  planted.  My  horse's  feet  could  not 
have  missed  it  twelve  inches,  and,  it  goes  without  saying,  I  gave 
a  wide  berth  to  it  afterwards,  and  required  no  further  admoni 
tion  to  look  out  for  fresh  earth  as  long  as  I  remained  thereabouts 
that  evening. 

It  was  also  provided  in  the  general  order  that  a  "desultory 
fire"  should  be  kept  up  by  our  artillerymen  on  McClellan's  works 
until  nine  o'clock  that  night,  so  as  to  cover  the  retreat,  when  the 
gunners  were  to  move  rapidly  out  and  join  their  commander. 
When  the  firing  ceased,  Whiting  was  to  break  up  his  bivouac  and 
follow  towards  Williamsburg. 

Inasmuch  as  we  were  to  march  in  the  night  time,  a  night  signal, 
of  three  claps  of  the  hands,  answered  by  three  whistles,  was  incor 
porated  in  the  order  of  march,  so  that  we  might  distinguish  friend 
from  foe. 


72  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

The  night  was  quite  cool,  and  Whiting  had  a  blazing  fire 
kindled  in  an  open  field,  around  which  gathered  Whiting,  Hood, 
Hampton,  several  others  and  myself,  awaiting  the  signal — the 
cessation  of  the  artillery  fire  at  Yorktown — we  waited  and  waited 
and  waited.  The  hour  of  nine  had  passed  and  still  we  could  hear 
an  occasional  shot,  until  about  midnight.  I  returned  to  my 
bivouac  in  the  edge  of  an  adjacent  wood,  and  had  just  curled 
myself  under  a  tree  lap,  with  my  saddle  for  a  pillow,  to  snatch  a 
brief  nap,  when,  to  add  to  the  pleasures  of  the  situation,  a  courier 
rode  up  with  an  order  from  General  AVhiting  to  report  to  him  at 
once  with  a  mounted  detachment.  I  accordingly  ordered  out 
Captain  McFie  with  about  forty  men,  and  promptly  reported.  He 
directed  me  to  proceed  at  once  to  Yorktown,  have  the  town  and 
forts  patrolled,  and  ascertain  what  the  firing  meant,  that  he  had 
been  notified  would  cease  at  nine  o'clock.  It  was  then  after  mid 
night  and  the  ''desultory  fire"  was  still  kept  up. 

Imagine  the  prospect  of  riding  into  and  through  a  town  in  the 
small  hours  of  a  dark  night,  where  I  learned  the  deadly  torpedo 
had  been  planted  for  the  benefit  of  the  incoming  army.  There 
was  nothing  else  to  do.  When  I  rode  into  the  town,  and  as  I 
then  apprehended  "into  the  jawTs  of  death,"  there  was  not  a  sound, 
not  a  light,  except  in  a  vacated  hospital  on  the  principal  street. 
On  examination  the  hospital  was  found  to  contain  two  contra 
bands — negroes — who  were  awaiting  the  arrival  of  their  deliv 
erers.  Sending  them  to  the  rear  was  the  work  of  a  very  few 
minutes.  We  continued  our  explorations  through  the  town  and 
below,  to  the  main  line  of  fortifications.  The  stillness  and  dark 
ness  of  the  place  was  dismal,  oppressive,  aggravated,  and 
intensified  by  the  contrast  with  the  scene  the  last  time  I  had 
visited  it  about  sunset,  when  all  was  bustle  and  haste;  and  also 
by  the  crop  of  torpedoes,  lurking,  we  knew  not  where. 

There  was  no  firing,  no  human  being  apart  from  our  own 
detachment.  Thinking,  perhaps,  our  cannoneers  might  have  mis 
taken  us  for  Federal  cavalry  and  concealed  themselves,  I  dis 
mounted,  moved  alone  through  the  abandoned  Confederate  camp 
where  the  "A"  tents  left  standing  had  been  cut  into  shreds,  and 
their  tattered  walls  flapped  listlessly  in  the  night  breeze.  I 
climbed  to  the  top  of  the  fortifications  and  gave  the  night  signal, 
but  received  in  return  not  a  sound.  I  could  hear  the  rumbling 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  73 

noise  from  McClellan's  camps,  as  he  was  digging  away  on  his 
approaches.  Returning  to  the  courier,  McTear,  who  was  holding 
my  horse,  I  was  just  in  the  act  of  mounting  when  I  observed  a 
flash  in  the  water,  Avhere  the  Federal  fleet  was  anchored,  and  in  an 
instant  a  meteor-like  light  described  the  arc  of  a  circle  in  the 
heavens,  and  much  quicker  that  it  takes  me  to  tell  it,  a  huge  shell 
exploded  not  more  than  forty  feet  from  us.  To  say  that  we  were 
demoralized  by  this  sudden  and  unexpected  explosion,  so  uncom 
fortably  near,  would  be  a  very  mild  way  of  putting  it. 

This  unwelcome  messenger  from  the  enemy's  vessels  explained 
the  mystery.  Our  men  had  ceased  firing  at  nine  o'clock,  but  the 
cannoneers  of  the  Federal  fleet  had  not,  and  that  is  wrhat  misled 
AVhiting  and  all  of  us.  I  need  not  say  to  any  old  soldier  in  this 
audience,  we  did  not  let  the  grass  grow  under  our  feet  getting  out 
of  Yorktown  that  night,  notwithstanding  the  budding  crop  of 
torpedoes.  I,  however,  dispatched  McTear  in  haste  to  inform 
General  Whiting  that  the  firing  we  had  heard  was  from  the 
enemy's  vessels,  and  followed  as  rapidly  as  we  dared,  sending 
Lieutenant  John  T.  Rhett  with  six  men  along  the  beach  of  York 
River  to  patrol  that  part  of  the  toAvn  to  make  sure  that  there  was 
no  enemy  lurking  there. 

Just  before  reaching  the  outlet  through  the  entrenchments,  or 
sort  of  sally-port  on  the  upper  side  of  the  town,  a  very  amusing 
but  natural  alarm  occurred.  We  were  moving  along  at  a  rapid 
walk  in  columns  of  fours,  when  Captain  McFie,  at  the  head  of  the 
column  near  me,  knocked  his  pipe  on  the  pummel  of  his  saddle. 
The  sparks  dropped  on  each  side,  and  as  if  by  instinct,  men  and 
horses  filed  off  suddenly  to  the  right  and  left,  imagining  we  had 
at  last  struck  a  torpedo.  Happily  it  was  a  false  alarm. 

In  a  very  fewT  minutes  we  encountered  another  peril — in  fact,  it 
may  be  said  it  was  a  night  of  perils  and  a  chapter  of  incidents. 
We  had  scarcely  cleared  the  main  entrenchment  above  Yorktown, 
Avhen  we  were  hailed  by  one  of  those  threatening  salutations, 
rendered  almost  weird  and  fierce  by  the  '"solemn  stillness"  of  the 
night — "Who  comes  there?"  Now,  mind  you,  we  had  passed 
down  this  same  road  not  more  than  an  hour  before  this,  perhaps 
not  so  long,  and  I  had  not  been  notified  that  any  other  Confed 
erate  was  to  be  at  or  near  Yorktown,  and,  as  it  turned  out,  the 
officer  whom  I  met  had  no  knowledge  of  our  being  there.  So  you 


74  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

may  imagine  our  mutual  surprise.  Fortunately,  I  had  ridden  a 
little  in  advance  of  the  column  after  the  pipe  incident,  and  thus 
received  the  challenge  in  person.  I  replied  in  the  usual  way,  "A 
friend  with  the  countersign."  The  man  had  either  not  been 
informed  of  the  night  signal,  or  had  forgotten  it.  He  yelled  out 
again,  "Who  comes  there?"  I  replied  again  in* tone  and  language, 
not  as  gentle  as  would  be  used  in  the  boudoir  of  a  fair  lady, 
"Friend  with  the  countersign;  why  don't  you  order  me  to  dis 
mount,  advance,  and  give  the  countersign?"  Meantime  I  was 
advancing,  imagining  I  heard  the  click  of  his  carbine.  Finally  I 
got  near  him  and  told  him  who  I  was.  There  was  relief  on  both 
sides,  for  it  turned  out  that  the  man  was  a  vidette  from  the  Tenth 
Virginia  Cavalry.  He  informed  me  his  regiment  was  just  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  and  that  he  had  been  posted  there  by  order  of 
Colonel  J.  Lucius  Davis — as  gallant  a  gentleman  as  ever  wielded 
a  sabre.  I  found  the  Tenth  Virginia,  with  men  all  dismounted, 
at  a  wharf  or  landing,  destroying  quartermaster  stores. 

Colonel  Davis  and  myself  exchanged  greetings,  and  I  passed  on 
to  report  to  Whiting.  Not  far  from  the  wharf  or  landing,  just 
south  of  it,  was  a  newly  built  house,  which,  I  was  informed,  was 
an  ordnance  storehouse,  with  fixed  ammunition  and  other 
ordnance  stores. 

When  we  had  proceeded  about  two  hundred  yards  from  where 
we  had  parted  with  Colonel  Davis,  we  heard  a  loud  explosion, 
followed  by  what  appeared  to  be  successive  volleys  of  musketry— 
about  where  we  had  so  recently  left  the  Tenth  Virginia.  I  was 
struck  by  surprise  and  bewilderment,  as  you  may  well  imagine. 
I  am  sure  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  had  elapsed  since 
I  had  patrolled  the  town  without  finding  the  enemy,  and  a  brief 
five  minutes  since  I  had  made  my  parting  salutations  to  Colonel 
Davis,  and  yet  the  indications  were  that  he  was  being  savagely 
attacked.  I  at  once  dispatched  a  messenger  to  him,  saying  I 
would  return  to  his  aid  if  necessary,  and  he  desired  it.  Very 
soon  the  second  mystery  was  explained.  He  sent  me  word  he  was 
not  being  attacked,  that  he  had  sent  three  men  to  destroy  the 
ordnance  storehouse,  and  when  they  pushed  the  door  to  enter, 
an  "infernal  machine"  fixed  there  to  catch  the  Yankees,  had  gone 
off,  killed  one  of  his  men  and  wounded  another.  In  addition  to 
this,  it  had  ignited  the  ammunition,  which  went  off  in  volleys,  and 
waked  the  echoes  for  miles. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  75 

We  pushed  on  toward  General  Whiting,  and  had  not  proceeded 
far,  when  we.encountered  another  "lone  sentinel,"  who  challenged 
me  more  fiercely  than  the  first.  This  time  it  was  an  infantryman. 
I  believe  our  "web-footed"  friends  say  they  are  more  dangerous 
than  the  "critter  companies,"  but  I  had  about  the  same  experience 
with  the  foot  soldier  that  I  had  with  the  cavalryman.  We  finally 
got  by  this  trouble  to  encounter  a  more  dangerous  and  threatening 
one — not  that  we  could  not  have  taken  care  of  one  man,  but  if  a 
shot  had  been  fired  under  the  circumstances,  it  is  difficult  to  say 
what  would  have  happened. 

The  third  and  last  "call"  was  from  a  company  of  infantry. 
The  men  were  deployed  across  the  fork  in  the  road.  It  was 
fortunately  getting  a  little  light.  The  first  streaks  of  the  early 
dawn  were  breaking.  The  officer  in  charge,  hearing  the  volleys 
from  the  column  approaching  from  the  direction  of  the  enemy, 
naturally  supposed  we  were  enemies.  His  men  had  their  guns 
cocked,  ready  to  fire,  when  he  recognized  us.  What  a  deliverance ! 
I  explained  what  might  be  regarded  a  "comedy  of  errors,"  but 
for  the  deadly  work  of  the  "infernal  machine,"  and  sought 
Whiting.  Hood,  Hampton  and  himself  had  been  startled  by  what 
they  supposed  was  musketry  firing  and  were  mounted,  rapidly 
making  their  dispositions  for  a  fight.  Troops  were  deployed  in 
line  of  battle,  batteries  stationed,  ambulances  and  supply  trains 
ordered  to  the  rear,  and  the  field  bristled  with  bayonets.  After 
learning  the  true  state  of  affairs,  breaking  the  line  into  columns 
and  heading  towards  Williamsburg  with  a  swinging  stride,  was 
the  work  of  a  few  minutes. 

After  his  column  got  fairly  under  way,  Whiting  sent  me  back 
to  the  vicinity  of  Yorktown.  Halting  on  the  hill  where  we  first 
heard  the  ordnance  house  volleys,  about  sunrise  I  heard  the  shouts 
of  McClellan's  troops,  when  doubtless  they  were  aroused  by  the 
work  of  the  "infernal  machine,"  and  apprised  of  our  departure. 
So  that  instead  of  forty-eight  hours,  it  was  not  twelve  before 
McClellan  must  have  known  of  the  evacuation.  How  long  it 
might  have  been  but  for  the  "infernal  machine,"  of  course,  is  a 
matter  of  conjecture,  but  the  facts  are  as  I  have  related  them. 

The  only  criticism  to  which  I  think  McClellan  is  amenable  was 
that  he  did  not  have  a  flying  column  mobilized  and  ready  to 
advance  promptly  and  overtake  Johnston's  retreating  army.  I 


76  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

brought  up  the  rear  of  G.  W.  Smith's  command,  Fender's  regi 
ment  of  Whiting's  brigade  holding  the  rear  of  the  infantry 
column.  We  moved  leisurely  the  entire  day  of  the  4th  of  May, 
frequently  halting  at  long  intervals,  and  were  not  approached  by 
the  enemy  until  late  that  afternoon  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wil- 
liamsburg,  which,  as  I  now  remember,  is  nine*  miles  from  York- 
town.  About  4  P.  M.,  I  was  joined  by  Colonel  J.  Lucius  Davis 
with  his  Tenth  Regiment  of  Virginians,  and  Lieutenant- Colonel, 
afterwards  Brigadier-General  W.  C.  Wickham  with  the  Fourth 
Virginia  Cavalry,  my  battalion  being  still  in  the  rear.  We 
observed  across  a  wide,  open  field  a  line  of  mounted  skirmishers, 
deployed  in  perfect  order,  covering  the  entire  field.  I  appealed  to 
Colonel  Davis,  the  ranking  officer  present,  to  be  allowed  to  charge 
them  with  my  four  companies,  but  he  would  not  consent,  and  the 
approaching  line  did  not  advance,  but  was  content  with  firing  a 
few  shots  at  long  range.  We  leisurely  withdrew,  passed  Fort 
Magruder,  and  drew  up  in  a  line  in  an  open  field  near  Williams- 
burg.  We  had  scarcely  dismounted,  standing  to  horse,  when  a 
messenger  came  at  full  speed  saying  General  Johnston  wranted  the 
cavalry.  To  mount  and  be  off  in  a  gallop  was  a  movement  quickly 
executed.  My  command,  happening  to  be  nearest,  and,  therefore, 
the  first  to  receive  the-  order,  took  the  advance. 

General  Johnston  and  his  staff  were  standing  on  the  roadside, 
not  far  from  Fort  Magruder,  a  strong  earthwork  occupied  by 
McLaws'  Brigade.  General  Johnston  ordered  me  to  report  to 
General  McLawrs  at  the  fort.  McLaws  pointed  to  about  four 
squadrons  of  Federal  cavalry  drawn  up  in  an  apple  orchard  some 
three  hundred  yards  north  of  the  fort,  and  said,  "I  want  you  to 
drive  that  cavalry  away."  We  made  at  them,  put  them  to  flight 
and  drove  them  pell  mell  across  a  ravine  very  wet  and  boggy, 
many  of  their  horses  floundering  in  the  mud,  and  captured  seven 
teen  men  and  horses.  Pursuing  up  the  other  declivity  we  ran  into 
their  reserves,  the  United  States  Second  Dragoons.  The  whole 
regiment  then  made  for  my  four  companies,  and  it  came  our  time 
to  get  back.  At  one  time  we  were  mixed  up  with  the  Federals, 
and  it  was  one  of  the  very  -few  occasions  during  the  war  that  I 
ever  saw  an  opportunity  to  use  the  sabre. 

Night  coming  on,  we  retired  to  our  bivouacs,  for  much  needed 
rest  and  food  for  men  and  animals.  The  next  day  the  battle  of 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  77 

Williamsburg  was  fought,  but  I  will  not  attempt  an  account  of 
that,  as  I  fear  your  patience  is  fatigued  already  by  too  much 
detail. 

The  point  I  desire  to  bring  out  by  this  narrative  is  that  forty- 
eight  hours  did  not  elapse  before  McClellan  discovered  Johnston's 
retreat.  Second,  that  but  for  Whiting's  naturally  mistaking  the 
"desultory  fire"  from  the  Federal  fleet  for  that  of  our  own  artil 
lerymen,  he  would  probably  have  reached  Williamsburg  about 
the  time  he  left  the  vicinity  of  Yorktown,  and  third,  that  the 
chances  were  McClellan  would  not  have  known  of  our  retiring  for 
several  hours  later  than  he  did  but  for  the  explosion  of  the 
ordnance  storehouse,  and,  therefore,  the  battle  of  Williamsburg 
might  have  been  avoided. 

Those  familiar  with  military  operations  and  how  battles  are 
fought,  need  not  be  reminded  of  what  influence  small  accidents 
or  incidents  have  on  results, — often  determining  the  fate  of 
armies,  and  sometimes  of  governments  and  dynasties. 

I  remember  it  was  said  at  the  time,  if  the  courier  from  Beaure- 
gard  to  Bonham  and  Longstreet  occupying  the  right  of  our  line 
at  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  with  an  order  to  move  forward 
their  brigades  had  not  lost  his  way,  McClellan's  army  beaten  by 
our  left  and  centre,  retreating  towards  Washington  in  confusion 
and  panic,  might  have  been  intercepted  and  captured. 

The  failure  of  Fitz  John  Porter  to  receive  Pope's  order  in  time, 
as  was  claimed,  or  his  failure  to  obey  it,  as  was  charged  by  Pope, 
was  advanced  by  Pope  and  his  defenders  as  the  reason  for  Pope's 
loss  of  the  battle  of  Manassas. 

Many,  many  incidents  might  be  cited  to  show  what  insignificant 
events  effect  great  results.  A  case  in  point  is  of  very  recent  occur 
rence,  the  shooting  and  attempted  assassination  of  the  Chinese 
Peace  Envoy,  Li  Hung  Chang,  by  a  Japanese  crank  or  lunatic, 
is  said  to  have  mollified  the  intense  war  spirit  of  the  Japanese, 
and  not  only  hastened  the  treaty  of  peace,  but  abated  the  terms 
and  conditions  contemplated  by  the  victorious  Japanese. 

Many  of  you  doubtless  recall  the  graphic  description  given  by 
Victor  Hugo  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo  in  his  marvelous  book, 
"Les  Miserables."  He  represents  Xapoleon  as  having  impressed  a 
Belgian  peasant,  Lacoste,  as  a  guide,  and  kept  him  by  his  side 
strapped  to  his  horse.  At  the  crisis  of  this  great  historic  battle 


78  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

on  the  result  of  which  hung  the  fate  of  Europe,  Napoelon  is  said 
to  have  asked  the  peasant  guide  a  question,  to  which  he  nodded 
assent.  Thereupon  the  Emperor  ordered  that  celebrated  but  fatal 
charge  of  the  cuirasseurs,  the  miscarriage  of  which  turned  the 
tide  of  battle  against  him.  The  inference  *was  that  Napoleon 
asked  the  unfriendly  guide  if  the  ground  was  suited  for  cavalry 
manoeuvres,  and  the  guide  answered  in  the  affirmative,  knowing 
the  contrary  to  be  true,  intentionally  leading  Napoleon  into  a 
blunder  at  a  vital  crisis. 

Of  course  allowances  must  be  made  for  the  embellishments  of  a 
novelist,  but,  I  believe,  the  facts  he  states  are  substantially  cor 
rect,  and  Victor  Hugo  draws  the  conclusion  from  them,  that  not 
only  was  the  battle  of  Waterloo  decided,  but  the  map  of  Europe 
changed  "by  the  nod  of  a  peasant." 

After  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  Johnston's  retreat  into  the 
fortifications  around  Richmond,  the  investment  of  that  city  by 
McClellan,  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  the  wounding  of  Johnston 
and  assignment  of  Lee  to  the  command  of  the  army,  the  san 
guinary  seven  days'  fighting  at  Mechanicsville,  Eraser's  Farm, 
Gaines  Mill,  Old  Cold  Harbor,  Malvern  Hill,  and  McClellan's 
discomfiture  and  retirement  to  his  gunboats  on  the  James  River, 
are  matters  of  history. 

There  was  one  manoeuvre  in  those  series  of  brillant  movements 
about  \vhich  I  have  felt  anxious  to  procure  correct  information 
without  success — whether  Johnston,  before  he  retired  from  the 
command  of  the  army,  or  Lee  after  he  assumed  command,  con 
ceived  the  strategy,  by  which  Jackson  crossed  the  mountains  from 
the  valley  and  struck  McClellan  such  a  blow  on  his  right  flank  at 
Mechanicsville,  and  doubled  it  back  on  his  center.  Either  of 
these  great  generals,  both  masters  in  the  art  of  war,  was  capable 
of  the  brilliant  conception,  but  I  doubt  if  another  living  soldier 
could  have  executed  it  as  did  the  immortal  Jackson.  My  rank 
did  not  entitle  me  to  the  confidence  of  those  entrusted  with  the 
conduct  of  military  operations,  but  I  remember  the  gossip  in  the 
army  decided  that  Jackson  was  being  greatly  reinforced  from 
Richmond  to  enable  him  to  cross  the  Potomac  and  strike  Wash 
ington  in  the  rear.  What  must  have  been  our  surprise,  then,  and 
what  the  surprise  of  the  Federals,  when  Jackson  appeared  sud 
denly  and  hurled  his  terrific  thunderbolts  against  McClellan's 
right. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  79 

I  do  not  recall  any  strategy  of  the  war,  or  of  any  war,  more 
brilliant  in  conception  or  more  splendid  and  brilliant  in  execution. 

McClellan  has  been  charged  with  being  slow  of  movement, 
over-cautious,  wanting  in  boldness  and  audacity,  but  he  was  a 
great  soldier,  a  profound  student  of  the  art  of  war,  great  in  organ 
ization,  discipline  and  perfection  of  his  plans — active  and 
initiative  in  their  execution.  It  is  no  disparagement  to  the 
greatest  soldiers  on  either  side  to  say,  in  many  respects  he  was  the 
equal  of  the  greatest  of  them. 

It  behooved  him  to  be  cautious  and  wary  in  the  presence  of  such 
military  giants  as  confronted  him,  and  he  furnished  the  best 
evidence  of  his  high  soldierly  qualities,  by  the  manner  in  which  he 
extricated  himself  from  the  clutches  of  Lee  and  Jackson  in  the 
seven  days'  fighting,  preserving  the  morale  of  his  army  under  the 
terrible  pounding  of  Lee's  legions,  always  presenting  a  fierce, 
fighting  line  of  battle,  whenever  the  gauntlet  was  thrown  down. 


80  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


BUTLER  AT  CHAMBERSBURG,  PENNSYLVANIA 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  October,  18S2,  eighteen  hundred 
cavalrymen  were  to  rendezvous  at  Darkesville,  Va.  Six  hundred 
of  the  best-mounted  and  most  reliable  men  had  been  selected 
from  each  of  the  three  brigades  of  Hampton,  Fitz  Lee  and  Rob 
ertson,  and  these  detachments  were  commanded  respectively  by 
Brigadier-General  Wade  Hampton,  Colonel  W.  H.  F.  Lee  and 
Colonel  William  E.  Jones.  Major  John  Pelham  commanded  the 
four  guns  which  accompanied  the  expedition.  When  the  troops 
had  assembled  at  the  rendezvous,  Stuart  issued  to  them  the  fol 
lowing  addess : 

"Soldiers !  You  are  about  to  engage  in  an  enterprise  which,  to 
insure  success,  imperatively  demands  at  your  hands  coolness, 
decision  and  bravery;  implicit  obedience  to  orders  without  a 
question  or  cavil;  and  the  strictest  order  and  sobriety  on  the 
march  and  in  bivouac.  The  destination  and  extent  of  this  expe 
dition  had  better  be  kept  to  myself  than  known  to  you.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  that  with  the  hearty  cooperation  of  officers  and  men  I 
have  not  a  doubt  of  its  success — a  success  which  will  reflect  credit 
in  the  highest  degree  upon  your  arms.  The  orders  which  are  here 
published  for  your  government  are  absolutely  necessary,  and  must 
be  rigidly  enforced." 

Every  nerve  of  every  man  responded  to  Stuart's  address.  The 
command  bivouacked  for  the  night  at  Hedgesville,  Va.  On  the 
morning  of  the  10th,  Colonel  M.  C.  Butler,  of  the  Second  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  who  led  Hampton's  advance,  added  to  this 
party  Lieutenant  Robert  Shiver,  an  experienced  scout,  and  six 
picked  men  from  his  owi  regiment.  Before  daylight  every  man 
was  in  the  saddle.  Butler,  at  the  head  of  Captain  John  Chesnut's 
company,  was  at  the  ford,  listening  for  some  token  of  Shiver  and 
his  men.  Soon  it  came.  Shiver  had  not  succeeded  in  surrounding 
the  picket,  but  he  drove  it  in  so  rapidly  that  the  fugitives  were 
cut  off  from  their  reserve,  and  were  unable  to  report  the  attack 
made  upon  them.  One  Federal  soldier  was  wounded  and  several 
horses  were  captured. 

At  the  first  sound  from  the  opposite  side  Butler  plunged  into 
the  river  and  secured  the  ford,  and  the  whole  command  made  a 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  81 

quick  and  quiet  crossing.  The  advance  was  immediately  pressed 
forward  to  the  National  Turnpike,  which  joins  Hagerstown  and 
Hancock,  near  which,  upon  Fair  View  Heights,  was  established  a 
Federal  signal  station.  Along  the  road,  between  three  and  five 
o'clock  that  morning,  had  passed  General  Cox's  division  of 
infantry.  Butler  reached  the  turnpike  so  close  to  his  rear  that 
he  captured  ten  stragglers  from  that  command.  Butler's  advance 
guard  was  completely  equipped  with  boots  and  shoes  at  the 
expense  of  a  Mercersburg  merchant,  who  had  no  suspicion  of  the 
character  of  his  liberal  customers  until  payment  wras  tendered  in 
the  form  of  a  receipt  required  by  General  Stuart's  orders.  Stuart 
reached  Chambersburg  about  eight  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the 
10th,  in  the  midst  of  a  drizzling  rain.  Two  pieces  of  artillery  were 
placed  in  position  commanding  the  town,  and  Lieutenant  Thomas 
Lee,  with  nine  men  from  Butler's  regiment,  was  sent  forward  to 
demand  an  unconditional  surrender  within  thirty  minutes  under 
penalty  of  a  cannonade.  No  resistance  was  made,  and  the  troops 
were  immediately  marched  into  the  town  and  drawn  up  on  the 
public  square.  Colonel  Butler  was  ordered  by  Stuart  to  enter  the 
bank  and  obtain  whatever  funds  were  on  hand.  Accompanied  by 
a  suitable  guard,  Butler  took  possession  of  the  building.  The 
cashier  assured  him  that  the  funds  had  been  sent  away  that  morn 
ing,  and  he  opened  the  vault  and  drawers  for  inspection.  Butler 
was  soon  satisfied  that  the  statement  of  the  cashier  was  correct. 
Reassured  by  the  courteous  deportment  of  Colonel  Butler,  the 
cashier,  now  that  the  search  for  money  was  ended,  summoned  the 
ladies  of  his  family,  and  voluntarily  brought  forth  food  for  the 
men,  who,  though  hungry,  had  made  no  demand  on  him  for  the 
supply  of  their  personal  wants.  Hampton  was  constituted  mili 
tary  governor  of  the  town  and  placed  Butler  in  immediate  com 
mand.  The  strictest  discipline  was  enforced,  and  quiet  reigned 
throughout  the  entire  night. 

As  the  day  dawned  on  the  morning  of  the  llth,  the  head  of 
column  started  toward  Gettysburg.  Colonel  Butler,  who  had 
held  the  advance  on  the  previous  day,  now  brought  up  the  rear 
with  the  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry  and  a  detachment  of  the 
First  North  Carolina  Cavalry.  He  was  ordered  to  destroy  the 
advance  storehouse,  which  contained  a  large  amount  of  ammuni 
tion  and  other  army  supplies.  Having  made  all  necessary  arrange- 

6— B.   C. 


82  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ments,  he  started  his  own  regiment  on  the  march,  retaining  with 
him  only  Captain  Cowles'  detachment  of  the  First  North  Carolina 
Cavalry.  He  then  notified  the  residents  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  his  intention  to  fire  the  building,  applied  the  match  to  the 
slow-burning  fuse,  and  retired  to  the  edge  of  4he  town  to  await 
the  result.  A  loud  explosion  announced  that  the  fire  had  reached 
the  fixed  ammunition,  and  in  another  instant  the  whole  building 
was  wrapped  in  flames.  Satisfied  that  his  work  was  accomplished, 
Butler  hurried  on  to  rejoin  the  command,  which  he  overtook  at 
Cashtown,  seven  and  a  half  miles  from  Gettysburg.  He  did  not 
leave  Chambersburg  until  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  from 
this  hour  the  duration  of  the  return  march  is  fairly  to  be  com 
puted. 

White's  ford  was  crossed  by  Stuart  and  all  his  command  except 
Butler  and  his  rear  guard,  who  were  fighting  Federal  General 
Pleasanton's  cavalry.  Pelham  maintained  his  position  in  Pleas- 
anton's  front  until  all  but  the  rear  guard  had  passed  when  he,  too, 
was  gradually  withdrawn  from  one  position  to  another  toward 
the  ford.  He  was  making  his  last  stand  on  the  river  at  the 
enemy  approaching  from  both  directions.  Everything  was  ready 
for  the  final  withdrawal  except  that  the  rear-guard — Butler's 
regiment  and  the  North  Carolinians — had  not  arrived.  Courier 
after  courier  had  been  sent  to  hasten  Butler  toward  the  ford,  but 
no  tiding  of  him  had  been  received.  Captain  Blackford  had  been 
stationed  by  Stuart  at  the  ford  to  urge  on  the  crossing  and  to 
prevent  the  men  from  stopping  to  water  their  horses.  Stuart 
approached  him,  and  said,  with  evident  emotion:  "Blackford, 
we  are  going  to  lose  our  rear-guard."  "How  is  that,  General?" 
asked  Blackford.  "Why,  I  have  sent  four  couriers  to  Butler,  and 
he  is  not  here  yet;  and  see,  there  is  the  enemy  closing  in  behind 
us!"  "Let  me  try  it,"  said  Blackford.  Stuart  paused  a  moment 
and  then,  extending  his  hand,  said :  "All  right,  and  if  we  don't 
meet  again,  good-bye,  old  fellow,"  and  in  an  instant  Blackford 
was  speeding  on  his  mission. 

Colonel  Butler  had  brought  up  the  rear  the  whole  distance  from 
Chambersburg,  Pa.  He  had  assigned  the  rear-guard  to  Captain 
Cowles  and  the  North  Carolina  detachment.  Before  his  rear  had 
cleared  the  Poolesville  road,  Cowles  notified  Butler  that  the 
enemy  had  overtaken  him  and  was  pressing  upon  him.  Butler 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  83 

halted  at  once,  and  made  disposition  of  his  regiment  and  his  one 
gun  to  resist  or  delay  the  further  advance  of  the  enemy.  While 
thus  engaged  Blackford,  who  had  passed  in  succession  the 
couriers  sent  in  search  of  Butler,  arrived  in  hot  haste  with  the 
news  from  the  front,  and  all  excitement  with  the  intensity  of  the 
occasion. 

"General  Stuart  says  withdraw  at  a  gallop,  or  you  will  be  cut 
off." 

"But,"  replied  Butler,  with  his  own  inimitable  coolness,  "I 
don't  think  I  can  bring  off  that  gun ;  the  horses  can't  move  it." 

"Leave  the  gun,"  said  Blackford,  "and  save  your  men." 

"Well,  we'll  see  what  \ve  can  do,"  replied  Butler.  To  the 
amazement  of  all,  the  broken  down  horses  responded  to  whip  and 
spur  and  the  gun  went  whirling  down  the  road,  followed  by  But 
ler  and  his  men.  As  he  rounded  theturn  of  the  road  toward 
the  ford,  Pennington  saluted  him  with  his  guns,  and  as  he 
approached  the  ford  he  was  subjected  to  the  distant  and  scattering 
fire  of  the  infantry  approaching  from  Poolsville  and  the  lower 
river  road.  Ten  minutes  later,  and  he  could  hardly  have  cut  his 
way  through,  even  with  the  loss  of  his  gun ;  but  now  a  rapid  dash 
through  the  ford,  and  the  last  man  was  safely  landed  on  Virginia 
soil. 

Stuart's  joy  at  the  successful  termination  of  his  expedition  was 
unbounded,  the  enemy  made  no  attempt  at  further  pursuit,  but 
approached  the  ford  sufficiently  near  to  receive  a  few  shots  from 
Pelham's  guns  and  to  hear  the  exulting  cheers  with  which  his 
men  greeted  Stuart  as  he  rode  along  their  lines. 

His  march  from  Chambersburg  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
on  record.  Within  twenty-seven  hours  he  had  traversed  eighty 
miles,  although  encumbered  by  his  artillery  and  captured  horses, 
and  had  forced  a  passage  of  the  Potomac  under  the  very  eyes  of 
forces  which  largely  outnumbered  his  own.  His  only  casualty 
was  the  wounding  of  one  man.  Two  men,  who,  for  some  reason, 
dropped  out  of  the  line  of  march,  were  captured. 

After  a  short  breathing  spell,  the  troops  moved  on  to  Leesburg, 
ten  miles  distant,  where  they  bivouacked  for  the  night  and 
enjoyed  well-earned  repose,  thence  by  easy  marches  they  returned 
to  their  camps  west  of  the  mountains.* 


*The  above  is  taken  from  the  "Campaigns  of  Stuart's  Cavalry,"  by  Major 
H.  B.  McClellan,  A.  A.  G. 


84  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Was  it  fate  or  was  it  peculiar  fitness  of  the  man  that  Butler 
always  led  our  advance  and  covered  every  retreat? 

Both  Yankee  generals,  McClellan  and  Pleasanton,  state  the 
length  of  Stuart's  march  at  ninety  miles,  and  ten  miles  back  from 
the  Potomac  to  Leesburg,  Va.,  made  one  hundred  miles  in  twenty- 
seven  hours  that  Stuart  and  his  Southern  cavaliers  rode.  A  won 
derful  feat — considering  all  the  obstacles. 

But  for  the  splendid  courage  of  Bob  Shiver  and  his  six  scouts 
in  cutting  off  the  pickets  and  making  the  ford  clear,  the  whole 
expedition  might  have  failed.  In  the  language  of  General  Butler, 
his  scouts  were  the  eyes  and  ears  of  his  command. 

When  Butler  was  crossing  the  Potomac,  riding  behind  the  rear 
guard,  General  Stuart  met  him  in  the  middle  of  the  river  with 
hat  in  hand  and  said :  "Well  done,  my  brave  boy." 

The  rear-guard  under  Butler  destroyed  at  least  a  quarter  of  a 
million  dollars'  worth  of  war  material  at  Chambersburg,  and  on 
this  raid  one  thousand  and  two  horses  were  captured  and  brought 
safely  across  the  Potomac. 

General  Pleasanton  told  General  Butler  after  the  war  that  in 
trying  to  overtake  our  cavalry  that  every  horse  in  his  command 
was  rendered  unfit  for  service,  and  all  his  cavalry  had  to  be 
remounted,  which  wras  promptly  done  by  the  United  States 
government.  But  not  so  with  Confederate  cavalry,  as  every 
cavalryman  had  to  furnish  his  own  horse  and  equipments,  and 
when  a  horse  was  killed  or  lost  from  any  other  cause,  the  rider 
had  either  to  go  to  the  infantry  or  get  a  remount  at  once.  That 
was  one  reason  why  the  Yankees  lost  so  many  horses  at  their 
picket  posts.  We  had  to  have  horses,  and  the  United  States  gov 
ernment  unwillingly  furnished  us  with  at  least  one-third  of  our 
horses,  saddles,  bridles  and  carbines  and  Colts  army  pistols  and, 
last,  but  not  least,  blankets  and  haversacks. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  85 


DUMFRIES'  RAID  No.  1 

A  short  time  before  the  Christmas  holidays  in  1862  the  scouts 
had  brought  information  that  quite  a  cavalcade  of  sutler  wagons 
under  military  escort  had  left  Washington  or  Alexandria  for 
Burnside's  Army  in  front  of  Fredericksburg,  moving  down  the 
Telegraph  Road.  The  wagons  were  loaded  with  "Christmas 
things"  for  the  army  at  Fredericksburg,  and  General  Hampton 
decided  that  the  sutlers,  quartermasters  and  commissaries  from 
Washington  ought  to  make  a  fair  and  liberal  division  with  the 
"d — d  rebels,"  as  we  were  affectionately  called  in  those  days; 
accordingly  he  crossed  the  Rappahannock  late  in  the  evening, 
bivouacked  for  the  night,  and  about  midnight  set  out  for  Dum 
fries  on  the  Telegraph  Road.  The  weather  was  intensely  cold  and 
the  night  as  dark  as  Erebus.  Reaching  the  neighborhood  of 
Dumfries  before  daylight,  Hampton  detached  Butler  with  his 
own  regiment,  the  Second  South  Carolina,  and  the  First  South 
Carolina,  to  move  into  the  Telegraph  Road  at  or  below  Dumfries, 
and  attack  any  force  in  the  town,  while  he  made  a  detour  to  the 
left  to  strike  the  road  above  Dumfries  towards  Occoquan.  As 
that  would  be  the  only  avenue  of  escape  for  the  enemy,  if  defeated 
by  Butler,  he  expected  to  cut  them  off  and  bag  the  game  between 
the  two  fires. 

When  Butler  charged  into  the  old  town  about  the  dawn  of  day, 
he  found  everything  and  everybody  asleep.  The  wagons  were 
packed  in  vacant  lots  with  their  teams,,  the  teamsters  and  escort 
of  about  twenty-five  troopers  sound  asleep  under  a  large  shed, 
near  the  principal  street.  The  first  salutation  they  received  was 
a  volley  from  Butler's  force,  which  had  charged  up  and  sur 
rounded  wagons,  teamsters,  escort  and  all.  To  be  thus  rudely 
awakened  was  no  doubt  regarded  as  a  very  unceremonious  per 
formance.  The  stationing  of  videttes,  some  distance  in  all  direc 
tions  from  the  town  to  keep  a  look  out,  while  the  prisoners  and 
wagons  were  cared  for,  was  the  work  of  a  very  short  space  of 
time.  Butler  immediately  dispatched  a  courier  to  Hampton, 
informing  him  of  the  result  of  his  onslaught,  and  General  Hamp 
ton  very  soon  joined  him  from  three  or  four  miles  up  the  road 


86  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

with  the  other  regiments  and  battalions  of  his  brigade.  Butler 
had  picketed  along  the  Telegraph  Eoad  and  Potomac  River  in  the 
fall  of  1861  and  winter  of  1862,  while  in  command  of  the  four 
companies  of  the  Hampton  Legion  Cavalry,»and  was,  therefore, 
very  familiar  with  the  highways  and  byways  of  the  country. 

The  wagons  were  loaded  down  with  almost  every  variety  of 
goods,  eatables,  drinkables,  confectionaries,  buckskin  gauntlets, 
boots,  shoes,  hats,  choicest  underwear,  etc.  As  soon  as  General 
Hampton  joined  Butler  from  up  the  road,  a  division  of  spoils 
began,  and  whatever  could  not  be  carried  off  was  destroyed. 

Of  course,  the  animals,  wagons,  prisoners  and  as  much  of  the 
plunder  as  would  not  impede  the  return  march  were  brought 
safely  out.  It  is  never  safe  to  linger  long  so  close  to  the  enemy 
after  an  escapade  like  that,  and  as  little  time  as  possible  was 
taken  in  getting  back  to  the  crossing  of  the  Rappahannock.  The 
ne"xt  day  there  was  a  division  of  the  spoils,  and  the  "Rebel 
Cavalry"  had  never  been  so  well  supplied  with  gloves,  boots, 
shoes,  nicknacks  of  all  kinds. 

Where  Burnside's  cavalry  was  while  this  mischief  in  his  imme 
diate  rear  was  going  on  nobody  has  ever  found  out. 

General  Butler  has  given  the  writer  some  amusing  incidents  of 
the  first  Dumfries  raid. 

In  the  division  of  the  booty,  he  got  as  his  share  a  splendid  four- 
horse  team  and  covered  wagon,  which  he  appropriated  to  his 
headquarters'  use.  I  have  frequently  slept  in  this  wagon.  On 
the  return  march  the  owner,  a  prisoner,  asked  permission  to  see 
Colonel  Butler,  a  request  which  was  readily  granted.  The  man 
said  he  was  from  Massachusetts,  had  every  cent  he  owned— 
$5,000.00 — invested  in  that  wagon,  team  and  goods,  and  wanted 
to  know  if  Colonel  Butler  would  not  allow  him  to  get  at  least  a 
part  of  the  goods;  that  he  expected  to  make  a  small  fortune  in 
profits  from  Burnside's  soldiers.  He  was  very  sympathetically 
informed  that  inasmuch  as  he  would  be  a  prisoner  in  Richmond 
in  a  very  short  time,  it  was  not  very  clear  how  the  "goods"  could 
be  of  any  benefit  to  him.  The  poor  fellow  subsided,  a  wiser  if  not 
a  richer  man.  Such  is  the  inexorable  fate  of  many  who  risk  their 
lives  and  fortune  in  war. 

Another  incident  quite  characteristic  of  "bent  on  treason, 
stratagem  and  spoils."  After  Colonel  Butler  had  started  his  regi- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  87 

ment  from  Dumfries,  remaining  with  the  rear  until  the  column 
had  straightened  out  homeward  bound,  he  moved  toward  the 
front,  and  about  half  way  up  the  column  he  found  one  of  his  men 
moving  along  at  a  pretty  lively  gait  with  a  large  keg  of  butter. 
On  inquiring  what  it  meant,  the  man  replied :  "This  is  some  of 
the  plunder  we  took  from  the  Yankees  at  Dumfries,  and  I  am 
carrying  it  back  to  camp  to  divide  among  the  boys."  As  the 
poor  horse  had  burden  enough  without  the  keg  of  butter,  the 
rider  was  ordered  to  dump  it  on  the  ground,  much  to  the  owner's 
disgust. 

One  of  the  surprising  things  in  the  military  operations  of  that 
time  was  how  General  Burnside,  after  his  crushing  defeat  at 
Fredericksburg,  kept  his  army  together.  The  demoralization  was 
such  that  entire  companies  deserted  and  came  over  to  our  pickets 
with  a  white  flag  and  asked  to  be  paroled.  Of  course,  it  was  the 
policy  of  the  Confederate  authorities  to  encourage  the  melting 
away  of  Burnside's  army,  and  all  but  officers  of  post  and  soldiers 
were  provided  with  forms  of  parole  and  instanter  to  parole  every 
man  who  applied. 

Dumfries'  Raid  No.  2 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  of  December,  1862,  Stuart  organ 
ized  an  expedition  known  among  his  men  as  the  "Dumfries  Raid," 
and  with  1,800  cavalry  commanded  .by  Generals  Hampton,  Fritz 
Lee  and  W.  H.  F.  Lee,  crossed  the  Rappahannock  at  Kelly's  Ford 
and  encamped  for  the  night  at  Morrisville.  Early  on  the  follow 
ing  morning  the  command  moved  toward  the  Potomac.  While 
the  two  Lees  were  occupied  on  the  Brentsville  road  in  the  vicinity 
of  Cole's  store,  Hampton  had  pursued  his  longer  march  to  Occo- 
quan,  which  he  reached  about  sunset.  Colonel  M.  C.  Butler 
charged  into  the  town  and  drove  from  it  a  detachment  of  the 
Seventeenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  capturing  eight  wagons  and 
nineteen  prisoners.  Hampton  now  withdrew  and  joined  the  other 
brigades  at  Cole's  store.  During  the  night  the  captured  wagons 
and  prisoners,  together  with  two  cannons  wrhose  ammunition  was 
exhausted,  were  sent  back  to  the  Rappahannock  under  the  escort 
of  a  squadron  of  the  Ninth  Virginia  Cavalry. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  Stuart  moved  forward  to 
the  Occoquan.  At  Greenwood  Church  Colonel  M.  C.  Butler,  with 


88  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

150  men  of  the  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  was  detached 
with  orders  to  go  to  Bacon  Kace  Church  and  endeavor  to  capture 
a  body  of  the  enemy  reported  to  be  at  that  point.  Butler 
encountered  cavalry  pickets  about  a  mile  frflm  the  church  and 
drove  them  back  upon  their  support,  which  he  found  to  consist 
of  a  considerable  force  of  cavalry  and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  He 
had  been  instructed  that  the  rest  of  the  command  would  advance 
in  the  same  direction,  on  a  parallel  road,  and  join  him  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bacon  Race  Church.  He  therefore  maintained  his 
position  in  front  of  the  force  he  had  engaged,  although  exposed 
to  a  severe  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery.  But  events  had  carried 
the  larger  part  of  the  Southern  cavalry  in  another  direction,  and 
Butler  in  vain  awaited  the  attack  which  he  momentarily  expected 
to  be  made  by  his  friends,  in  which  he  was  prepared  to  join.  Not 
deeming  it  prudent  to  longer  remain  in  this  isolated  position,  he 
attempted  to  withdraw  toward  Brentsville  by  the  same  road  on 
which  he  had  advanced.  He  had  moved  but  a  short  distance  when 
he  found  the  road  occupied  by  a  large  force  of  the  enemy;  thus 
enclosed  in  front  and  rear,  his  position  was  critical,  but  by  making 
a  detour  of  three  or  four  miles  he  eluded  his  enemies  and  safely 
rejoined  his  brigade  at  Selectman's  Ford.  Both  Stuart  and 
Hampton  bestow  praise  on  Butler  for  the  manner  in  which  he 
extricated  his  command.  When  Stuart  got  back  to  Culpepper 
Court  House  on  the  31st  December,  1862,  his  loss  on  the  expedi 
tion  was  one  killed  and  thirteen  wounded  and  fourteen  missing. 
The  captured  sutler's  wagon  proved  capable  of  inflicting  nearly 
as  much  damage  as  the  rifles  of  the  enemy.  The  federal  loss 
exceeded  200  men. 

About  twenty  wagons  and  sutlers'  teams  were  captured.* 
On  this  raid  Marion  Shivar,  one  of  Bill  Mikler's  "Iron  Scouts," 
while  in  front  of  a  Yankee  battery,  stopped  and  attempted  to  take 
a  dismounted  brother  scout  up  behind  him  on  his  old  horse 
"Rebel";  when  his  saddle  turned  he  deliberately  got  down  and 
fixed  his  saddle,  took  his  friend  up  and  quietly  rode  off  under 
artillery  fire — a  brave  deed  to  save  his  friend.  The  winter  of 
1862  was  a  very  severe  one  on  our  cavalry — particularly  so  in  the 
Dumfries  raid. 


*The  above  is  taken  from  "The  Campaigns  of  Stuart's  Cavalry,"  by  H.  B. 
McClellan. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  89 

General  Butler  gives  an  account  of  his  experience  on  this  same 
raid.  He  says : 

"We  crossed  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad  at  Fairfax 
Station  during  the  night  and  passed  between  Fairfax  Court 
House  and  Washington,  and  about  nine  o'clock  reached  Frying 
Pan,  where  we  halted  for  breakfast  and  rest  of  an  hour  or  two. 
I  had  some  very  interesting  talks  with  Governor  Proctor,  senator 
from  Vermont,  with  whom  I  served  in  the  senate  (he  is  still  a 
senator).  He  was  colonel,  or  lieutenant-colonel,  of  a  Vermont 
cavalry  regiment.  Our  column  passed  between  his  regiment  and 
Washington,  very  near  wrhere  he  was  located  for  the  night.  He 
informed  me  he  expected  to  be  'taken  in'  by  Stuart;  did  not 
attack  us,  as  he  was  quite  willing  to  be  let  alone.  The  night  was 
terrifically  cold,  and  nearly  every  man  in  my  regiment  traveled 
on  foot  a  good  part  of  the  night,  leading  their  horses,  to  keep 
from  freezing.  We  were  thoroughly  exhausted,  having  been  in 
the  saddle  two  days  and  nights,  and  I  saw  men,  during  a  tem 
porary  halt  on  the  march,  throw  themselves  forward  on  their 
horses'  necks  and  sleep  apparently  soundly. 

"Just  before  daylight  I  dismounted,  tramping  along  in  the 
rear  of  my  regiment.  The  First  North  Carolina  was  in  front;  I 
would  almost  lose  consciousness  and  walk  into  the  First  North 
Carolina  until  aroused  as  to  the  situation.  Walking  under  such 
circumstances  was  a  sort  of  mechanical  operation — and,  as 
improbable  as  it  may  seem,  we  went  through  this  experience  after 
midnight.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Frank  Hampton  was  at  the  head 
of  the  regiment,  and  as  day  was  dawning  he  sent  a  courier  down 
the  column  after  me  post  haste.  I  mounted  and  rode  rapidly  for 
ward  to  ascertain  what  the  matter  was.  As  both  the  Lees  hap 
pened  to  be  ahead  of  us,  I  could  not  imagine  the  enemy  had 
ventured  out  in  front.  As  I  rode  up  Colonel  Hampton,  who,  you 
may  remember,  was  a  very  large  man,  pointed  out  parties 
foraging  from  house  to  house.  They  were  Fitz  Lee's  men. 
Colonel  Hampton,  who  was  a  most  gallant  soldier  and  courtly 
gentleman,  to  whom  I  was  most  warmly  attached,  had  just  rallied 
from  a  'horseback  slumber'  and  imagined  he  saw  army  wagons 
and  ambulances  going  over  the  hills  ahead,  and  remarked  to  me: 
'Butler,  the  Lees  must  have  captured  more  wagons  and  ambu 
lances  than  our  brigade.'  Upon  my  assuring  him  there  were  none 


90  BUTLEK  AXD   HlS  CAVALRY.  1861-1865. 

in  sight,  and  that  the  men  visible  in  the  dim  light  were  Fitz 
Lee's,  he  recovered  himself  and  enjoyed  the  joke  as  much  as  any 
of  us.  The  fact  is  a  number  of  men  were  in  a  sort  of  delirium 
from  the  loss  of  sleep,  myself  among  the  number  (we  had  nothing 
stronger  than  ice  water  and  sleet  to  drink).  But  we  were  young 
in  those  days,  and  the  short  sleep  we  enjoyed  after  sunrise 
restored  our  vigorous  manhood.  I  could  tell  you  a  good  one  on 
myself,  but  I  have  written  more  than  I  intended.  Colonel  Hamp 
ton  got  it  back  on  me  with  a  good  laugh. 

~If  Tom  Purdee  is  alive  he  could  tell  about  it." 

General  John  B.  Gordon  says  that  a  Yankee  officer  told  him 
after  the  war  that  one  night  in  Virginia  he  went  to  relieve  a 
vidette  for  a  certain  purpose,  who  had  actually  frozen  to  death  at 
his  post  leaning  against  a  trefc. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  how  the  private  soldiers  suffered  on  both 
sides  during  thi>  bloody  and  terrible  war. 

-There  never  was  a  good  war  or  a  bad  peace/' 

General  B.  E.  Lee  evidenced  his  appreciation  of  the  privates 
when  he  said  to  one  of  them  who  was  standing  near  his  tent. 
-Come  in.  captain,  and  take  a  seat."  "I'm  no  captain.  General; 
I'm  nothing  but  a  private.*7  said  the  modest  soldier.  "Come  in. 
sir."  said  Lee.  "Come  in  and  take  a  seat :  you  ought  to  be  a  cap 
tain.'* 

Although  playfully  uttered,  these  simple  words  reflected  the 
real  sentiment  of  the  great  chieftain. 

General  Gordon  says:  ~Xo  language  would  be  too  strong,  or 
eulogy  too  high,  to  pronounce  upon  the  privates  who  did  their 
duty  during  that  long  and  dreadful  war.  who  manfully  braved 
its  dangers,  patiently  endured  its  trials,  cheerfully  obeyed  the 
orders,  who  were  ready  to  march  and  to  suffer,  to  fight  and  to 
die.  without  once  railing  in  question  the  wisdom  of  the  orders 
or  the  necessity  for  the  sacrifice." 

One  dark  night  in  the  early  part  of  1863.  Lsaac  Curtis.  General 
Lee?s  famous  scout,  and  Bolick.  one  of  General  Butler's  scouts. 
dressed  themselves  up.  each  in  a  Yankee  officers  uniform  and 
rode  by  the  Federal  pickets  right  into  the  camp  of  the  Eighth 
Illinois  Cavalry  Regiment,  within  150  yards  of  General  Mead's 
headquarters  and  awoke  five  men  from  their  slumber  in  this 
gallant  old  regiment,  ordered  them  to  be  very  quiet  while  saddling 


BUTLEB  AXD   HlS  CAVALRY.   1861-1865.  91 

their  horses  as  they  were  needed  for  a  special  purpose.  The  order 
was  promptly  obeyed  and  after  they  had  passed  the  Yankee 
pickets,  going  out  back  to  our  lines  with  their  Yanks,  one  of  them 
said  to  Curtis:  "Ain't  we  prisoners?"  and  just  as  he  said  it.  put 
spurs  to  his  horse  and  away  he  went  into  the  darkness.  The 
others  were  told  if  they  ran  they  would  surely  be  killed.  So  the 
two  scouts  brought  four  men  in  blue,  four  nice  horses  with  the 
usual  brand  U.  S.  on  the  left  shoulder  of  each,  four  army  sad 
dles,  bridles,  blankets,  carbines,  army  pistols,  and  four  oil  cloths. 
Xot  a  shot  was  fired.  This  was  simply  a  display  of  nerve  and  will 
power. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  John  D.  Twiggs.  of  the  First  South  Caro 
lina  Cavalry,  rode  one  of  these  fine  horses  until  he  (Colonel 
Twiggs)  was  killed. 

Here  is  what  a  gallant  colonel  of  Butler's  Cavalry  has  to  say 
about  a  private  soldier  who  belonged  to  his  regiment : 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  27th  August,  1907. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

My  Dear  Brooks :  I  have  been  reading  with  a  great  deal  of  interest  the 
sketches  from  your  book,  as  published  in  The  Sunday  yew*.  All  you  said 
about  Oscar  Reid's  bravery  is  true,  and  I  have  always  thought  that  I  sent 
him  to  his  death.  A  few  days  before  he  was  killed  he  was  riding  along 
behind  General  Butler,  when  they  saw  two  Yankees  crossing  a  field  some 
distance  away.  Reid  immediately  leaped  the  fence  and  chased  after  them 
across  the  open  field  and  captured  them  and  brought  them  to  Butler,  who 
complimented  him  for  the  handsome  manner  in  which  he  had  done  it.  This 
incited  Reid's  ambition  to  win  promotion.  On  the  ISth  March,  the  day 
before  the  battle  of  Bentonville,  I  had  been  sent  down  a  certain  road  by 
General  Butler  with  my  regiment,  and  just  despatched  an  officer  with 
twenty  men  to  pursue  a  group  of  horsemen  down  one  road  <  this  group  I 
subsequently  learned  from  prisoners,  consisted  of  General  O.  O.  Howard 
and  his  staff,  who  only  escaped  capture  by  running  into  the  protection  of  a 
large  Union  force).  While  awaiting  the  return  of  this  detachment,  I  was 
sitting  on  a  log  by  the  side  of  the  road,  and  Reid  was  sitting  beside  me, 
while  we  held  our  horses  by  the  bridles.  We  were  speaking  of  Butler's 
compliment  to  Reid,  when  he  said:  **Colonel.  I  am  going  to  win  a  com 
mission;  I  am  going  to  distinguish  or  extinguish  myself."  Just  then  a 
vidette  came  running  in  with  the  report  that  a  squad  of  Yankees  was 
advancing  towards  us  by  another  road.  I  immediately  ordered  Lieutenant 
John  D.  Browne  (our  legislative  sergeant-at-arms  for  so  many  years)  to 
charge  them  with  his  company,  and  said  to  Reid.  "Now  is  your  chance, 
Reid:  go  with  Browne."  He  mounted  his  horse  with  alacrity  and  dashed 
ahead,  leading  the  charge,  when  a  volley  from  the  enemy,  as  they  wheeled 


ZIMMERMAN   DAVIS 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  93 

in  full  retreat,  "extinguished"  the  life  of  the  brave  fellow.  He  was  far  in 
advance  of  the  rest  when  he  fell.  Little  did  he  dream  a  few  moments 
before  how  strangely  and  suddenly  he  would  be  both  "distinguished  and 
extinguished." 

If  this  reminiscence  is  of  any  use  to  you,  here  it  is.  I  thought  I  would 
add  interest  to  your  story. 

Yours  cordially, 

ZIMMERMAN    DAVIS. 

Colonel  Zimmerman  Davis  was  the  last  commander  of  the 
gallant  old  Fifth  Cavalry  Regiment.  The  chivalrous  John  Dun- 
ovant  was  its  first  colonel,  who  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
McDowell's  farm,  1st  October,  1864,  as  brigadier-general  com 
manding  "Butler's  Old  Brigade."  The  second  commander  was 
Colonel  Jeffords,  who  was  killed  27th  October,  the  same  day  and 
month  and  year,  at  the  battle  of  Burgesse's  Mill. 

Another  brave  boy  in  the  war  was  the  late  Senator  Edward 
Dennis,  of  Berkeley  County.  He  belonged  to  Company  F,  Sixth 
South  Carolina  Cavalry,  Colonel  Hugh  K.  Aiken's  Regiment  of 
the  "Old  Brigade,"  who  was  killed  24th  February,  1865,  in  Dar 
lington  County.  Edward  Dennis,  when  just  out  of  his  teens, 
while  in  Virginia  the  latter  part  of  1864,  took  fever,  and  as  soon 
as  he  could  travel  was  sent  on  sick  furlough  to  his  home  at  or 
near  Pinopolis,  then  in  old  Charleston  District,  now  Berkeley 
County.  About  the  time  that  the  city  of  Charleston  was  evac 
uated  in  1865,  Dennis  had  recovered,  and  not  knowing  where  his 
command  was,  he  gathered  together  a  squad  of  six  men  and 
operated  on  the  Santee  and  Cooper  rivers,  in  Old  Charleston 
District.  He  was  a  terror  to  the  Yankee  raiding  parties  who 
gave  the  people  of  the  section  no  end  of  trouble.  Go  to  the  old 
people  now  living  in  Berkeley  County,  and  they  will  tell  you  of 
the  blood-curdling  things  committed  by  "Potter's  Raiders,"  and 
others  in  blue  uniform  just  as  bad. 


94  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

But  for  Captain  Dennis  and  his  men,  we  do  not  know  what 
would  have  become  of  the  good  people  in  that  locality  when  their 
homes  were  invaded.  The  good  people  divided  them  into  three 
classes  of  brutes — the  white  brutes,  the  black  brutes  and  the 
mulatto  brutes.  Whenever  these  outlaws  wouloVgo  on  one  of  their 
murderous  raids,  all  that  the  good  people  had  to  say  was,  "Cap 
tain  Dennis  is  coming,"  and  they  would  scamper  away  like  the 
devil  was  after  them. 

I  venture  to  say  that  General  Marion,  during  the  Revolution, 
did  no  better  work  than  Edward  Dennis  accomplished  in  the 
same  length  of  time  in  this  territory. 

On  one  of  these  raids  a  big  mulatto  from  Boston,  Mass..  at  the 
head  of  fifty  men,  rode  up  to  a  beautiful  mansion  in  St.  John's, 
Berkeley,  and  notified  the  young  ladies  that  they  would  have  a 
"ball"  at  their  home  that  night,  and  that  they  would  have  to 
dance  with  him.  Word  was  soon  sent  to  Captain  Dennis,  in  the 
swamp,  and  about  sunset  Dennis  with  his  little  Spartan  band 
met  the  Boston  buck  with  his  fifty  men  very  near  the  house  on 
his  way  to  the  "ball"  coming  down  a  long  lane.  Dennis  told  his 
men  that  he  knew  the  horse  the  negro  was  riding,  and  as  soon  as 
the  report  of  a  gun  was  heard  the  horse  would  throw  him  certain 
if  he  (Dennis)  missed  him,  and  then  with  the  "Rebel  yell"  he 
led  the  charge,  killing  the  gentleman  from  Boston  the  first  shot; 
and  then  the  balance  of  the  ballmen  broke  and  ran,  and  for  about 
three  or  four  miles  Dennis  and  his  squad  had  fine  sport  shooting 
these  demons,  who  would  not  surrender,  but  kept  on  running — 
that  is,  all  who  did  not  die  in  the  lane.  After  the  war  one  of  these 
young  ladies  married  a  distinguished  lawyer  in  the  city  of 
Charleston. 

I  traveled  all  over  this  territory  in  1883,  '84  and  '85,  and  the 
marvelous  things  that  these  good  people  told  me  sounded  like 
fiction  which  Captain  Dennis  with  his  squad  accomplished. 

Such  people  as  the  Porchers,  Palmers  and  others  of  like  char- 
aster  were  loud  in  their  praises  of  Edward  Dennis.  The  Yankee 
raiders  on  one  occasion  went  to  Pineville,  which  is  located  about 
seven  miles  from  St.  Stephen's  Depot,  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line 
railroad,  and  took  old  Mr.  Mazyck  Porcher  out  of  his  house  and 
made  him  walk  twenty  miles  barefooted.  In  1883  I  spent  the 
night  with  this  same  old  gentleman,  Mr.  Porcher,  at  his  home  in 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  95 

Pineville,  S.  C.,  who  told  me  of  his  bad  treatment,  and  he  said 
with  much  feeling:  "Sir,  I  have  not  spoken  to  a  Yankee  since 
this  horrible  outrage  was  committed,  and  never  will  so  long  as 
I  live." 

My  old  comrade  and  friend  Dennis  told  me  that  Mr.  Porcher 
lived  to  be  almost  ninety  years  old  and  kept  his  word. 

Dennis  made  these  villains  suffer  for  their  treatment  of  Mr. 
Porcher.  * 

The  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  good  people  of  Berkeley 
will  erect  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  this  gallant  Confederate 
soldier,  Edward  J.  Dennis,  who  died  22d  day  of  May,  1904,  just 
as  the  good  people  of  the  Peninsular  in  Virginia  did  to  the 
memory  of  James  Tradewell,  a  Columbia,  S.  C.,  boy,  one  of  Gen 
eral  Gary's  scouts — who  rendered  the  same  kind  of  service  that 
Edward  Dennis  did  in  old  Charleston  district. 

In  1878  General  E.  W.  Moise  was  adjutant  and  inspector- 
general  for  South  Carolina,  who  had  in  his  office  at  that  time  a 
man  named  Paul  Ludwig,  who  knocked  Jim  Tradewell  down  in 
the  office  because  he  came  in  drunk.  Just  then  Wade  Manning 
appeared  and  knocked  Ludwig  down,  and  as  soon  as  he  got  up 
Wade  floored  him  again,  and  then  Ludwig  seemed  to  be  satisfied. 
Wade  then  told  him  that  if  he  hit  Tradewell  again  that  he 
(Ludwig)  would  regret  it. 

How  different  Mr.  Goldsmith  was  wiien  he  had  a  fight  with 
Captain  Dick  O'Neale  just  after  the  war  on  Main  street  in  Colum 
bia,  S.  C.  Dick  O'Neale  knocked  him  down  two  or  three  times, 
and  then  Mr.  Goldsmith  lay  there,  when  some  one  said,  "Why 
don't  you  get  up,"  and  he  replied,  rather  abruptly,  "What  is  the 
use?  Why,  every  time  I  rise  the  d — d  fool  knocks  me  down 
again." 

Poor  Jim  Tradewell  has  been  dead  about  twenty  years,  and 
while  on  his  deathbed  sent  for  Captain  John  Taylor,  his  old  com 
rade.  John  Taylor  told  me  he  never  in  all  his  life  heard  such  a 
sermon  from  the  lips  of  any  one  "On  the  goodness  of  God." 

"The  world  is  a  bud  from  the  bower  of  God's  beauty;  the  sun 
is  a  spark  from  the  light  of  his  wisdom;  the  sky  is  a  bubble  on 
the  sea  of  his  power." 


96  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

THE  STORY  OF  A  SCOUT  TOLD  IN  HIS  OWN  WAY 

(HUGH  HENDERSON  SCOTT,  Edgefield,  S.  C.) 

I  first  entered  the  Confederate  service  in  January,  1861,  and 
was  between  sixteen  and  seventeen  years  of  age.  I  enlisted  in 
Gregg's  First  Regiment,  South  Carolina  Volunteers.  I  was  on 
Morris  Island,  and  Sullivan's  Island  a  while.  We  were  State 
troops  then,  and  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Sumter  the  call  was 
made  by  South  Carolina  for  volunteers  to  go  to  Virginia,  and 
about  half  of  the  regiment  went.  I  was  one  of  them.  I  went 
there  to  serve,  but  was  furloughed  on  the  14th  day  of  July,  just 
before  the  first  battle  of  Manassas.  I  came  home,  got  a  horse  and 
went  back  to  Manassas  and  joined  M.  C.  Butler's  company  at 
Bacon  Race  Church.  He  was  then  Captain  Butler,  and  his  com 
pany  the  "Edgefield  Hussars,"  Hampton  Legion.  I  served  as 
private  in  that  command  until  1862,  when  I  was  detailed  as  a 
scout  in  "Hogan's  Squad  of  Scouts"  for  General  Wade  Hampton. 


The  "Scouts"  were  in  the  rear  of  the  Federal  army.  We  had 
been  sent  to  watch  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad  to  see  if 
troops  were  sent  in  or  brought  out.  Whenever  we  sent  a  man  up 
there,  he  would  not  come  back.  Those  people  had  taken  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 

We  started  out  on  Saturday  evening — three  mounted  men, 
Bolick,  Freeman,  and  myself,  and  about  five  or  six  on  foot,  and 
reached  there  that  evening  about  an  hour  by  sun,  and  that  night 
we  went  into  ambuscade  until  the  next  morning.  We  were  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  Brentsville,  Va. 

The  next  morning  Shadbourne  (George  D.  Shadbourne,  who 
was  chief  of  scouts),  said,  "You  three  mounted  men  go  up  and 
enter  the  town."  We  went  into  the  town,  and  the  people  said, 
"What  are  you  doing  here ;  don't  you  see  the  Yankees  over  there?" 
We  replied,  "We  came  here  to  get  breakfast."  We  rode  down,  got 
breakfast,  and  a  lady  held  our  horses  and  we  sat  down  to  the 
table  and  ate.  We  could  see  the  Yankees  three  or  four  hundred 
yards  away  from  us,  saddling  their  horses.  This  was  on  the  14th 


HUGH    H.    SCOTT 


7— B.   C. 


98  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

of  February,  a  Sunday.  They  got  down  and  hitched  their  horses. 
As  we  were  going  down  the  hill,  I  said,  "They  are  playing  a  trick 
on  us ;  they  are  going  around  here  to  cut  us  off  from  the  ford.  So 
we  went  back  to  the  blind  or  ambuscade  we  had  on  a  hill. 

At  three  o'clock  that  evening,  Shadbourne  said,  "You  three 
mounted  men  ride  back  into  town."  The  Yankees  were  there,  and 
they  saddled  their  horses  and  came  for  us.  Bolick  told  me  he 
was  going  to  have  a  fight  out  of  those  Yankees  if  he  had  to  charge 
the  camp.  We  fell  back  through  the  pines  to  get  back  to  the 
foot  of  the  hill.  They  were  dressed  up  in  gaudy  style,  gauntlets, 
gloves  and  plumes.  Bolick  said  to  the  officer:  "Who  is  in  com 
mand  of  this  squad?"  He  answered,  "I  am."  Bolick  asked, 
"Who  are  you?"  The  answer,  "I  am  Major  Lamar,  of  General 
Crawford's  staff."  Bolick  in  reply,  "Major,  there  are  only  three 
of  us  here,  but  it  is  a  good  place  to  fight,  and  we  will  fight  it  out 
in  detail;  but  we  have  only  double-barrel  shotguns  and  pistols, 
but  we  will  borrow  your  sabres  and  fight  it  out."  The  major  said, 
"I  don't  propose  to  fight  that  way."  Bolick  asked  him  how  he 
proposed  to  fight.  He  said,  "We  will  all  fight."  Bolick  pulled 
his  carbine  and  fired  one  shot  at  him.  Then  we  left,  and  as  we 
went  by  the  ambush  they  were  pretty  close  on  us,  and  I  told 
Bolick  to  take  to  the  woods.  We  ran  around  a  hill  and  came  out 
about  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  three  Yankees  had  passed  the  blind. 
One  of  the  Yankees  shoved  his  pistol  right  against  Bolick  and 
shot  him,  and  I  shoved  my  pistol  right  against  the  Yankee  and 
shot  him  through  the  shoulder.  They  killed  Bolick  there  and 
then.  Bolick  fell  from  his  horse.  I  ran  those  three  fellows  up  the 
road  for  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  but  could  not  do  anything  with 
them.  I  turned  and  came  back  and  passed  Bolick.  He  looked  at 
me  and  said,  "Scott,  I  am  killed."  I  told  him  I  would  come  back, 
and  I  went  up  the  hill  to  the  ambush  to  see  what  damage  we  had 
done.  There  were  twenty-one  Yankees,  and  we  had  killed  seven 
teen  out  of  the  twenty-one.  One  of  the  Yankees  never  passed  the 
ambush  and  three  passed  it.  The  major  had  his  hat  turned  up  in 
front,  and  we  shot  him  in  the  forehead,  three  buckshot  striking 
him  there.  We  got  only  one  horse  out  of  the  lot.  This  occurred 
on  Sunday,  the  14th  of  February,  St.  Valentine's  day,  1863. 

We  took  Bolick  and  carried  him  down  in  the  pines  about  a 
hundred  yards,  thinking  he  was  dead.  We  had  a  bull  dog  with  us, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  99 

and  we  hurried  away  from  there.  Two  days  afterwards  we  went 
back  with  a  two-horse  wagon  and  coffin  to  get  Bolick,  and  when 
we  got  there  the  bull  dog  was  lying  down  by  the  side  of  Bolick, 
and  we  had  to  make  ourselves  known  before  we  could  go  near 
him.  Bolick  had  his  hands  clasped  around  a  little  sapling, 
which  showed  he  was  not  dead  when  we  left  him  there.  We 
buried  him  at  Arlington's  Cross  Roads. 

Bolick  was  anxious  to  marry  a  young  lady  at  Arlington's 
Cross  Roads,  and  he  had  told  her  the  morning  before  he  was 
killed :  "I  am  going  to  be  killed  the  first  fight  I  get  into."  She 
had  jilted  him.  We  carried  his  body  to  the  cross  roads,  and 
buried  him  right  at  the  young  lady's  house. 

General  Butler:  "Tell  Mr.  Gettys  about  the  time  I  put  you 
under  arrest  for  killing  a  squirrel  in  1863." 

He  (General  Butler)  was  trying  all  the  time  to  get  me  in  the 
guardhouse,  but  I  was  always  too  sharp  for  him.  I  rode  up  to 
his  headquarters  one  day,  near  Martinsburg,  Va.  I  was  sent  out 
by  Hogan,  who  was  chief  of  General  Butler's  scouts.  He  sent  me 
to  carry  a  dispatch  to  General  Butler.  I  rode  up  to  headquarters 
and  handed  him  the  dispatch,  and  asked  him  where  the  regiment 
was.  He  said,  "Right  over  there  on  the  hill."  Before  I  got  to 
where  the  regiment  was,  I  heard  a  good  deal  of  shooting  going 
on.  I  rode  up  and  asked  the  boys  what  they  were  shooting  at, 
and  they  said  they  were  shooting  at  a  squirrel.  I  said,  "Let  me 
take  a  shot."  I  jumped  off  my  horse  and  fired  one  of  my  pistols 
way  up  in  the  top  of  a  tree,  and  I  killed  the  squirrel  the  first  shot. 
About  the  time  I  shot  the*squirrel,  General  Butler  sent  a  guard 
over  there  and  had  six  or  seven  arrested.  I  was  in  the  crowd.  They 
marched  us  to  General  Butler's  headquarters.  He  said:  "Were 
you  shooting,  too?"  I  answered,  "Yes,  sir."  He  said,  "What 
were  you  shooting  at,  sir  ?  You  are  always  getting  into  trouble." 
I  answered,  "I  am  not  in  any  trouble,  I  was  shooting  at  a 
squirrel."  He  said,  "If  you  didn't  kill  that  squirrel,  I  will  put 
you  in  the  guardhouse."  To  this  I  replied,  "Put  the  balance  in 
the  guardhouse,  Colonel;  I  killed  the  squirrel."  The  others 
claimed  I  didn't  kill  the  squirrel.  All  went  to  the  guardhouse, 
but  later  he  turned  them  loose.  The  Colonel  said,  "It  looks  to  me 
as  if  I  couldn't  catch  you  to  save  my  life." 


100  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

The  Yankees  were  in  camp  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock  River,  and  had  pickets  along  the  river  bank  about  fifty 
yards  apart.  One  night  in  October,  1863,  Hogan,  Hanley,  Wal 
lace  Miller  and  myself  waded  the  river  ayd  slipped  by  the 
videttes.  Before  we  waded  the  river  Hanley  pulled  off  his  clothes 
and  put  them  in  his  haversack  to  keep  them  from  getting  wet, 
but  while  wading  the  river  he  fell  down  and  got  his  haversack 
full  of  water,  and  I  could  not  help  laughing  at  him.  After  we 
crossed  the  river  we  crawled,  I  suppose,  for  two  hundred  yards, 
one  behind  the  other,  each  man  with  his  hands  touching  the  man 
in  front  so  as  to  keep  from  getting  separated.  We  ran  up  on  a 
reserve,  but  there  were  too  many  men  for  us  to  handle,  and  we 
went  on.  We  met  a  citizen,  and  he  told  us,  "If  you  will  go  yonder, 
you  can  capture  a  captain  and  three  of  his  men."  We  found 
three  tents  there — a  negro  was  in  one  tent,  and  four  Yankees  in 
the  other  two  tents.  We  captured  the  captain  and  his  three  men. 
The  negro  ran,  but  one  of  the  boys  shot  him.  We  left  him  there 
and  he  died  the  next  day.  To  get  the  prisoners  out,  Hogan 
decided  he  would  go  to  Richard's  Ferry.  He  said,  "Scott,  you 
take  charge  of  these  prisoners  and  we  will  go  down  and  capture 
the  vidette  at  the  ford."  He  left  me  there  with  the  four  prisoners, 
and  I  was  afraid  they  would  not  be  able  to  find  me  in  the  dark, 
and  I  w^ould  be  left  there  with  the  prisoners.  They  failed  to 
capture  the  vidette  at  the  ferry,  and  they  then  went  and  hunted 
up  a  citizen  who  showed  us  a  blind  ford  just  above  Richard's 
Ferry,  and  we  crossed  over  with  the  prisoners  and  seven  horses 
that  we  had.  The  prisoners  were  Captain  Mason,  his  orderly 
sergeant,  and  two  of  his  men.  We  crossed  over  and  were  then 
between  the  Rappahannock  and  Rapidan  rivers,  in  Culpepper 
County,  and  still  in  the  enemy's  country.  We  next  crossed  the 
Rapidan  and  got  breakfast  at  a  farm  house.  Hanley  and  myself 
were  detailed  to  take  the  prisoners  to  General  Hampton's  head 
quarters.  I  put  Hanley  in  the  rear;  I  went  in  front.  I  suppose 
it  was  about  thirty  miles  to  General  Hampton's  headquarters, 
right  up  the  Rapidan  River.  We  stopped  at  a  farm  house  and  all 
sat  down  together  and  had  dinner;  after  dinner  we  started  on, 
Hanley  bringing  up  the  rear.  After  we  had  traveled  about  an 
hour,  I  looked  back  and  Hanley  was  gone.  I  asked  one  of  the 
prisoners  where  he  was,  and  he  said,  "That  man  stopped  back 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  101 

there  an  hour  ago."  I  never  have  seen  Hanley  since.  He  deserted 
and  went  down  and  crossed  the  Kapidan  River  at  Germana  Ford 
and  went  over  to  the  Yankees.  I  went  on  with  the  prisoners,  and 
when  I  got  to  where  General  Hampton  had  camped,  he  had  moved 
on  about  fifteen  miles  further,  and  Fitz  Hugh  Lee's  division  was 
camped  there.  I  told  Captain  Mason  I  would  have  to  turn  him 
over  to  Fitzhugh  Lee's  troops  to  guard.  He  asked  me  not  to  do  it, 
but  to  guard  them  myself.  I  said,  "Captain,  I  cannot  guard  you 
tonight.  I  never  slept  a  wink  last  night."  It  was  pouring  .down 
rain  and  we  saw  a  little  house  nearby  unoccupied.  The  captain 
said  to  me,  "Let  us  go  in  this  house  and  stay  all  night,  and  I 
guarantee  every  one  of  us  will  be  here  in  the  morning."  I  told 
them  to  get  down,  unsaddle  their  horses,  tie  them  and  come  in. 
They  had  plenty  to  eat  in  their  haversacks.  We  went  in  the 
house  and  kindled  up  a  fire  and  dried.  I  was  the  only  one  there 
with  the  four  prisoners.  I  told  them  to  lie  down  and  go  to  sleep, 
that  I  was  going  to  sleep  myself,  and  if  they  stayed  there  it  would 
be  all  right.  Captain  Mason  said  to  me:  "You  think  there  is  not 
a  man  in  the  Yankee  army  that  is  a  gentleman,  but  I  am  a 
gentleman."  We  went  to  sleep  and  the  next  morning  they  were 
all  there.  I  carried  them  to  General  Hampton's  headquarters, 
took  them  to  my  company  and  gave  them  breakfast.  Some  of  the 
soldiers  attempted  to  rob  Captain  Mason,  and  I  took  his  gold 
watch  and  secreted  it  about  his  person  so  that  it  would  not  be 
found.  Captain  Mason  said  to  me:  "This  business  you  are  in 
will  cause  you  to  be  either  killed  or  captured."  He  gave  me  the 
address  of  his  wife,  and  said,  "If  you  are  ever  captured,  write 
to  her  and  you  will  not  suffer  for  anything."  He  said :  "If  I  am 
ever  exchanged  and  you  are  captured,  hunt  me  up,  and  I  will  let 
you  walk  through  the  camp  and  turn  you  loose.*  I  have  been 
treated  far  better  than  I  ever  expected  to  be  treated  by  a  'Johnny 
Reb.' '  He  shed  tears  when  I  bade  him  good-bye,  and  I  told  him 
I  hoped  he  would  get  back  to  his  family. 


In  the  early  part  of  1863  Bob  Shiver  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
regiment,  but  would  often  go  out  on  scouts  with  us.  Bob  Shiver, 
Woody,  Barnwell,  Gillespie,  Thornwell,  and  myself,  crossed  the 
Rapidan  River  and  went  over  near  United  States  Ford.  We 


102  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

nailed  two  logs  together  and  crossed  on  them.  We  went  over 
there  and  captured  four  Yankees  and  their  horses.  I  said  to  Bob 
Shiver,  "How  are  you  going  to  get  these  horses  out?  He  said, 
"I  am  going  to  charge  the  picket  and  get  them  out."  We  got  on 
the  horses  and  carried  the  Yankees  as  far  as  we  could,  then  turned 
them  loose.  We  came  across  a  foraging  party  that  had  a  lot  of 
green  food  tied  up  on  their  horses;  there  were  about  twenty-five 
or  thirty  of  them,  but  we  charged  right  through  them.  This  was 
the  picket,  and  we  charged  through  them  and  got  to  the  ford. 
We  shot  the  vidette  at  the  ford  and  came  across  to  where  the 
army  was  camped  around  Fredericksburg. 


During  the  winter  of  1863 -'64  we  were  camped  at  Hamilton's 
Crossing,  near  Fredericksburg.  We  were  in  the  rear  of  the 
Yankee  army.  We  crossed  the  Rappahannock  River  on  logs  one 
night,  and  went  over  into  Culpepper  County,  between  the  Rappa 
hannock  and  Rapidan  rivers.  We  were  going  to  Stevensburg, 
but  when  we  got  to  the  road  leading  from  Fredericksburg  to 
Stevensburg  we  found  it  full  of  Yankee  cavalry,  headed  towards 
Fredericksburg,  and  they  were  just  halting.  We  went  down  in 
the  woods  and  talked  the  matter  over.  The  Yankees  had  stopped 
there  until  they  could  capture  our  pickets  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river.  This  was  Dahlgreen's  raid,  en  route  to  capture  Rich 
mond.  We  walked  alongside  of  the  Yankees,  back  to  the  rear 
of  the  column.  When  we  got  to  the  rear  we  led  out  two  horses 
and  took  the  men  prisoners.  Dan  Tanner  and  I  got  on  the  two 
horses  and  fell  in  line  with  the  Yankees  and  crossed  the  river 
with  them.  After  crossing  the  river,  they  took  the  road  to  Spott- 
sylvania  Cou$  House,  and  we  rode  to  Fredericksburg  and 
reported  to  General  Hampton  that  Dahlgreen  had  crossed  the 
river,  captured  our  pickets  and  was  going  towards  Spottsylvania 
Court  House.  General  Hampton  could  only  muster  about  three 
hundred  men  from  the  whole  brigade,  but  we  followed  them  with 
the  three  hundred  men  of  the  First  North  Carolina  Cavalry. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  we  made  some  inquiries  about  how  far  they 
were  ahead  of  us,  and  some  citizens  told  us  they  had  camped 
about  two  miles  further  down.  General  Hampton  stopped  and 
told  Dan  Tanner  and  myself,  "I  want  their  vidette  captured,  and 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  103 

I  don't  want  a  shot  fired."  Dan  Tanner  and  myself  went  around 
through  the  woods  and  got  between  the  vidette  and  the  reserve, 
and  when  it  came  about  time  to  relieve  the  vidette,  we  went  up 
and  relieved  him  ourselves,  and  captured  him  without  firing  a 
shot.  We  then  carried  him  on  up  to  General  Hampton.  General 
Hampton  then  rode  down,  dismounted  his  men  and  charged  into 
the  camp.  We  whipped  Dahlgreen  out  of  his  camp  and  captured 
more  men  than  we  had  ourselves.  Dahlgreen  pushed  on  the  next 
day,  and  we  followed  him  and  came  up  to  him  late  in  the  evening 
and  had  another  fight,  in  which  Dahlgreen  was  killed  (1st  March) 
and-Kilpatrick  driven  off  behind  the  Yankee  infantry.  General 
Stuart  was  mortally  wounded  on  May  10th,  1864,  at  Yellow 
Tavern  on  Sheridan's  first  raid,  and  died  May  12th,  at  Rich 
mond,  Va. 


In  1864  we  were  down  below  Petersburg,  and  Hogan  had  a 
certain  part  of  the  lines  to  watch,  and  one  night  I  went  over  there 
to  see  if  the  Yankees  were  patrolling  the  road.  When  we  got  there 
we  found  there  was  no  patrol  on  the  road,  so  we  went  down  into 
their  camp.  We  took  seven  horses  out  of  the  Yankee  camp  and 
rode  them  off.  The  next  day  Hogan  told  Jim  Niblet  and  myself 
to  go  over  on  the  road  and  see  if  it  was  patrolled  again.  Niblet 
said  to  Dick  Hogan,  "Why  is  it  you  always  put  Scott  and  me  on 
the  hardest  work;  here  are  some  other  men  that  have  not  done 
anything?"  Hogan  said,  "You  will  do  what  I  tell  you,  or  you  can 
report  to  General  Butler's  headquarters."  I  said  to  Jim  Niblet, 
"Let's  go,  that's  the  way  he  has  of  praising  us."  Niblet  said, 
"Well,  Scott,  let's  bid  them  all  good-bye."  So  we  shook  hands 
with  all  of  them  and  told  them  good-bye. 

We  had  three  swamps  to  cross  before  we  got  to  this  road.  After 
we  had  crossed  the  first  swamp  I  told  Jim  Niblet  we  had  better 
get  down  and  hitch  our  horses  in  the  woods  and  wade  the  swamp, 
if  we  followed  the  road  we  would  be  captured.  It  was  our  inten 
tion  to  dismount  and  wade  the  swamp,  but  just  as  we  got  to  the 
second  swamp,  I  was  riding  on  the  right  of  Jim  Niblet,  and  he 
had  his  gun  on  his  shoulder.  I  had  mine  across  my  thigh.  We 
were  not  fifteen  steps  from  the  swamp  when  Jim  Niblet's  gun 
went  off  on  his  shoulder.  I  said,  "Jim,  what's  the  matter  with 
your  gun?"  He  took  the  gun  off  his  shoulder  and  looked  at  it, 


101  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

and  a  Yankee  had  fired  at  him  and  hit  the  lock  of  the  gun  and 
exploded  it.  Both  reports  were  so  near  together  that  we  could 
not  distinguish  one  from  the  other.  Just  then  ten  or  fifteen 
Yankees  jumped  out  of  the  bushes  and  commenced  firing  on  us. 
They  were  not  more  than  ten  steps  from  us.  They  shot  Jim 
Niblet  through  the  cheek,  shoulder  and  back  of  the  hand,  but 
never  touched  me.  Jim  Niblet  asked  me,  "How  are  we  going  to 
get  out?"  I  told  him,  "I  will  take  you  out,"  and  we  went 
through  that  swamp  on  our  horses  and  got  back  to  where  Hogan 
was.  Hogan  said,  "You  carry  your  horses  back  there  and  tie 
them  in  the  woods  and  report  to  me.  I  am  going  to  that  road." 
We  went  on  through  the  woods  and  swamps  to  the  road.  When 
we  got  to  the  road,  we  saw  two  wagons  coming,  carrying  rations. 
There  were  three  Yankees  guarding  the  wagons.  We  captured  the 
whole  business,  eight  mules,  the  drivers,  and  the  three  Yankees. 
We  started  off  through  the  woods,  and  about  that  time  saw  about 
twenty-five  cavalrymen  coming.  They  followed  us  right  on 
through  the  woods.  We  sent  the  prisoners  on  and  mounted  our 
horses  and  we  got  in  the  rear  of  the  Yankees.  They  were  trying 
to  recapture  the  wagons  and  men.  Hogan  said,  "Boys,  I  want  two 
of  you  to  go  up  yonder  and  get  behind  a  log  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  and  we  will  toll  these  Yankees  by,  and  when  they  go  by  I 
want  you  to  fire  into  them."  We  did  that  and  killed  and  captured 
every  one  of  the  whole  twenty-five  men  right  there. 


In  1864  General  Hampton  sent  Shadbourne  and  a  man  by  the 
name. of  Jim  Sloan,  who  belonged  to  the  First  North  Carolina 
Cavalry,  from  Petersburg  to  Fredericksburg  on  some  mission. 
While  they  were  at  the  hotel  in  Fredericksburg  they  were  cap 
tured  by  some  Yankees  and  put  on  board  a  little  schooner,  sent 
down  the  Rappahannock  River  and  brought  up  the  James  River 
to  City  Point.  That  night  the  guard  and  Shadbourne  got  to 
talking,  and  the  guard  said  he  had  a  brother  in  the  Confederate 
Army,  and  it  turned  out  that  Shadbourne  knew  his  brother  and 
told  him  where  he  was.  The  guard  told  them  he  was  going  to 
turn  them  loose.  He  broke  one  handcuff  on  each  man's  wrist, 
and  told  them  there  was  a  little  skiff  about  a  half  mile  down  the 
river,  and  if  they  could  get  to  that  they  could  get  away.  He  told 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  105 

them  not  to  escape  until  the  guards  were  changed,  so  that  he 
would  not  be  suspected.  They  got  away  and  swam  down  the  river, 
got  to  the  skiff,  and  came  out  to  where  the  scouts  were  camping. 
The  scouts  were  then  encamped  on  James  River,  and  their  duty 
was  to  report  every  transport  that  came  or  went  on  the  river  and 
the  number'of  men  on  it  as  far  as  possible. 


In  the  winter  of  1864  the  scouts  were  below  Petersburg  in  the 
rear  of  the  Union  Army.  We  had  our  headquarters  at  a  house 
owned  by  Mrs.  Tatum.  We  had  twenty-six  horses  in  the  stables 
and  there  were  thirteen  of  us  in  the  house,  each  had  two  horses. 
One  morning  Shadbourne,  who  had  charge  of  us,  told  us  to  go  up 
and  saddle  our  horses.  We  got  up  and  saddled  the  horses,  and  fed 
them,  and  we  sat  down  to  breakfast  about  sunup.  A  negro  girl 
ran  in  and  said,  "Here  is  the  Yankees."  We  jumped  up  from  the 
table  and  looked  out  of  the  back  window  and  saw  a  good  many 
Yankees  in  the  apple  orchard.  We  ran  to  the  front  door.  There 
was  a  little  flower  garden  in  front  and  a  lane  up  from  the  road  to 
the  house,  and  the  Yankees  were  hitching  their  horses  at  the 
flower  garden.  Phil  Hutchinson  was  one  of  the  scouts.  He  said 
to  Shadbourne,  "What  are  you  going  to  do?"  Dan  Tanner  said, 
"Throw  the  door  open  and  let's  leave  somebody  to  tell  the  tale." 
We  threw  the  door  open  and  jumped  out.  They  were  filing  into 
the  flower  garden.  We  killed  seven  or  eight  in  the  garden,  ran 
over  them  and  went  to  the  lot  to  get  our  horses.  Only  one  man 
got  to  his  horse,  and  that  was  Dan  Tanner.  We  abandoned  the 
horses  and  had  a  run  across  an  old  field,  I  suppose  for  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  yards.  Shadbourne  said:  "Get 
in  line,  men,  or  they  will  capture  every  one  of  us.  Let's  fight  it 
out."  We  fell  back  in  line  and  they  charged  us  twice,  but  we 
repulsed  them  both  times.  They  captured  Shadbourne.  They 
had  threatened  to  kill  all  of  us  if  they  captured  us,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  after  they  captured  him  we  heard  three  or  four  shots, 
and  we  were  all  satisfied  they  had  shot  Shadbourne.  A  minute 
or  two  afterwards  we  heard  Shadbourne's  whistle,  and  we 
answered  it,  and  he  came  to  us.  He  had  gotten  away.  He  told 
the  Yankee  colonel  he  had  some  plunder  in  the  fence  corner,  and 
the  colonel  detailed  two  men  to  go  with  him  and  get  it,  and  when 


106  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

he  got  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  he  made  a  break.  They  shot  at 
him,  but  he  got  away.  That  left  us  without  horses.  We  returned 
to  the  house  after  the  Yankees  left,  and  they  had  taken  the  lady's 
two-horse  wagon  to  carry  the  dead  and  wounded  off.  They 
removed  twenty-six  dead  and  wounded.  We  marched  that  night 
about  fifteen  miles  to  a  lady's  house  by  the  name  of  Mrs.  Gray. 
She  had  a  daughter  by  name  Carrie  Gray,  who  would  give  us 
information.  She  had  heard  about  the  fight,  and  when  we  went 
up  to  the  house  that  night  the  others  stayed  outside  and  I  went 
in  to  see  this  young  lady.  I  looked  in  the  window  and  I  saw 
three  Yankees  sitting  there  talking  to  her.  One  was  a  "safe 
guard,"  because  I  had  seen  him  there  before.  There  were  only 
two  horses  in  the  stables.  I  went  to  the  back  gate  and  the  dog 
barked  and  she  came  out.  She  said  to  me,  "Who  is  this?"  I  said, 
"Scott."  She  said,  "The  Yankees  killed  all  of  you,  didn't  they?" 
I  said,  "They  didn't  kill  a  man,  but  they  captured  all  of  our 
horses."  She  said,  "If  you  go  right  down  this  road  two  miles 
there  are  seventeen  Yankees  there  on  picket  duty,  and  they  have 
seventeen  gray  horses."  We  went  down  that  night,  and  killed 
nine  men  and  captured  seventeen  gray  horses,  then  we  went  on 
up  to  the  general  place  of  rendezvous  and  camped  in  the  woods 
and  pitched  our  little  tents.  WVwere  to  meet  a  Virginia  scouting 
party  there  the  next  morning.  Before  day  we  heard  a  rumbling 
through  the  woods.  Everybody  was  up  but  one  of  the  scouts, 
Dr.  Tom  Thistle,  a  surgeon.  We  could  not  get  him  up.  We  told 
him  the  Yankees  were  coming  through  the  woods.  He  said, 
"That  is  Curtis's  party,"  but  it  was  the  Yankees.  They  recaptured 
every  horse,  barring  seven,  and  captured  Dr.  Tom  Thistle. 

That  night  we  went  to  another  end  of  the  line,  where  there 
were  twenty-one  men  on  post.  We  laid  down  and  crawled  up  to 
them,  I  suppose  in  fifteen  steps  of  them.  Those  fellows  sat  up  all 
night  long  with  their  guns  in  their  hands.  Shadbourne  crawled 
along  by  each  man  and  whispered,  "Boys,  I  am  going  to  charge 
them."  We  charged  them  on  foot  and  brought  away  twenty-one 
horses  and  killed  sixteen  or  seventeen  men. 


In  June,  1864,  we  had  been  fighting  a  day  or  two  and  I  needed 
another  horse.  I  told  General  Hampton,  "I  will  have  to  go  and 
capture  a  horse."  He  asked  me  where  I  was  going,  and  I  told 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  107 

him  on  the  north  side  of  the  Northanna  River.  He  gave  me  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Dolph  Kennedy  to  go  with  me.  We  rode 
all  day  long,  and  late  that  evening  I  saw  some  horses'  tracks  in 
the  road,  and  I  went  to  a  house  and  asked  a  citizen  what  horses 
had  been  along  there.  He  told  me  the  Yankees,  and  they  had  a 
pontoon  bridge  across  the  river  down  there.  I  asked  him  if  I 
could  see  the  pontoon  bridge  without  going  down.  He  said, 
"Yes;  you  go  down  this  road  about  two  miles  and  you  will  turn 
into  a  gate,  and  as  soon  as  you  get  inside  the  gate,  take  a  path, 
and  it  will  lead  you  to  a  bluff,  and  you  can  see  right  into  the 
Yankee  camp."  I  went  on  and  got  down  and  hitched  my  horse, 
and  went  to  the  bluff,  and  saw  Sheridan  crossing  the  river  with 
his  cavalry,  artillery  and  ammunition.  I  counted  the  flags  and 
the  guns.  That  night  I  went  back  to  the  man's  house  and  put  my 
horse  in  a  little  lot,  and  got  this  man  to  pilot  me  over  the  road. 
He  carried  me  to  a  lady's  house,  and  she  told  me  what  she  had 
learned:  that  Sheridan  was  going  into  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
and  they  had  six  days'  rations  cooked  and  about  ten  thousand 
men.  I  then  told  Kennedy  he  would  have  to  carry  a  dispatch  to 
headquarters  to  General  Hampton,  about  thirty-five  miles  away. 
The  next  morning  I  watched  the  road  they  took,  and  reported  to 
General  Hampton  myself  the  next  day. 

I  had  to  follow  the  movements  all  along  and  report  to  General 
Hampton  what  road  they  were  taking.  He  told  me  he  wanted  to 
strike  them  when  they  were  crossing  the  railroad.  We  whipped 
them  there  and  got  them  on  the  run.  I  was  following  along  the 
flanks  in  order  to  notify  General  Hampton  what  road  Sheridan 
was  retreating  on.  One  night  I  stayed  in  the  woods  all  night 
by  myself,  and  the  next  morning  about  sunup  I  went  to  a  house 
to  get  breakfast.  I  saw  two  horses  with  their  heads  in  a  crib  door. 
I  rode  in  five  feet  of  it  and  looked  in  the  crib,  and  saw  two 
Yankees  in  there  filling  up  sacks  with  corn.  I  could  not  see  the 
house ;  I  saw  eight  or  ten  in  the  yard  on  their  horses.  I  put  spurs 
to  my  horse  and  charged,  and  yelled,  "Come  on,  boys,  here  they 
are."  I  jumped  off  my  horse,  and  threw  the  reins  over  the  fence, 
and  ran  into  the  yard.  I  had  a  double-barrel  shotgun,  and  I  shot 
two  from  their  horses  and  captured  two,  and  brought  away  four 
horses  by  myself.  I  gave  a  citizen  one  of  the  horses  to  take  charge 
of  the  prisoners  and  take  them  back. 


108  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

After  the  last  days  of  fighting  on  Sheridan's  raid,  I  was  scout 
ing  for  General  Butler,  but  still  doing  special  duty  for  General 
Hampton.  General  Butler  told  me  General  Hampton  wanted  to 
send  me  to  Fredericksburg,  and  he  said :  "I  want  you  to  go  there 
and  come  back."  It  was  about  sixty  miles.  He  said,  "You  have 
been  throwing  off  on  me,  and  if  you  throw  off  on  me  this  time,  I 
will  put  you  in  the  guardhouse."  I  went  to  Fredericksburg  and 
stayed  there  two  weeks.  I  got  back  to  Richmond  and  put  my 
horse  in  the  stables.  I  then  went  to  the  Exchange  Hotel,  which 
was  run  by  a  man  named  George  McMaster.  I  looked  on  the 
register  and  I  saw  General  M.  C.  Butler's  name.  I  asked  Mr. 
McMaster  to  show  me  General  Butler's  room.  General  Butler  had 
told  me  to  bring  him  a  hat  from  Fredericksburg,  and  1  had 
bought  the  hat  for  him.  Mr.  McMaster  showed  me  General  But 
ler's  room  and  I  knocked  at  the  door.  General  Butler  told  me  to 
come  in,  and  I  went  in.  General  Butler  said  to  me,  uWhere  have 
you  been?"  I  said,  "I  have  been  to  Fredericksburg."  He  said, 
"Didn't  I  tell  you  to  go  there  and  come  back?"  I  said,  "Yes,  sir." 
It  made  me  feel  pretty  cheap  the  way  he  talked  to  me  before  the 
other  officers.  He  said,  "Did  you  bring  that  hat?"  I  said,  "Yes, 
sir."  "Where  is  it,"  he  asked.  "Out  here  in  the  office,"  I  said. 
"Go  and  get  it,"  he  said.  I  replied,  "No,  sir;  if  I  go  to  the  guard 
house,  you  don't  get  that  hat,  General."  General  Butler  said, 
"Go  and  get  the  hat."  I  said,  "I  have  got  to  have  a  promise 
whether  I  go  to  the  guardhouse  or  not."  I  knew  he  felt  a  deli 
cacy  in  making  a  promise  to  a  private  before  the  other  officers, 
but  I  knew  after  he  got  the  hat  I  would  never  be  sent  to  the 
guardhouse.  So  I  got  the  hat.  It  was  an  elegant  hat,  with  a  gold 
cord,  and  fitted  him  "jam'  up."  The  other  officers  tried  to  get 
General  Butler  to  send  me  back  to  Fredericksburg  to  get  them 
hats.  I  said,  "General,  I  have  got  a  canteen  of  rye  liquor  in  the 
office,"  and  he  said,  "Bring  it  up."  I  brought  it  in  and  they 
stayed  up  there  a  good  while,  having  a  good  time.  I  stayed  in 
General  Butler's  room  that  night,  and  the  next  morning  he  asked 
me  where  my  horse  was.  I  said,  "In  the  stables,"  and  he  gave 
me  an  order  to  put  him  in  the  government  stables,  for  he  wanted 
me  to  stay  in  Richmond  with  him  for  two  or  three  days.  He  let 
me  have  a  little  money,  and  I  stayed  with  him.  We  then  went  to 
headquarters  below  Petersburg,  and  he  never  put  me  in  the  guard 
house,  never. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  109 

•  • 

In  1893  I  was  on  my  way  to  Washington.  General  Butler  had 
given  me  a  position  as  his  messenger  in  the  Senate  and  I  was 
going  to  Washington  to  take  the  position.  I  heard  two  gentlemen 
on  the  train  talking,  and  I  knew  from  their  conversation  that 
both  of  the  men  belonged  to  the  Federal  Army  during  the  Civil 
War.  I  asked  the  man  on  the  seat  beside  me  what  command  he 
belonged  to.  He  said  the  Third  North  Carolina,  United  States 
Volunteers.  I  asked  him  who  the  man  was  on  the  seat  in  front  of 
us.  He  said  he  was  the  colonel  of  the  Second  New  York  Cavalry, 
M.  B.  Birdseye.  I  asked  the  man  sitting  on  the  seat  with  Colonel 
Birdseye  to  change  seats  with  me,  as  I  wanted  to  talk  to  the 
Colonel,  which  he  did.  I  asked  the  Colonel  what  command  he 
belonged  to,  and  he  said  he  was  colonel  of  the  Second  New  York, 
"Harris  Light  Cavalry."  I  asked  him,  "Do  you  recollect  Captain 
Mason  in  your  regiment?"  He  said  to  me,  "Yes,  sir;  what  do  you 
know  about  Captain  Mason?"  I  said,  "I  was  one  of  the  party 
that  captured  him."  He  then  said  to  me,  "Who  was  with  you, 
and  how  did  you  capture  Captain  Mason?"  I  told  him.  He 
said,  "What  were  you  doing?"  I  said,  "I  was  one  of  General 
Hampton's  scouts."  He  said,  "Who  had  charge  of  your  scouts?" 
I  told  him  Hogan.  He  said,  "No,  sir;  Hogan  was  shot."  I 
replied,  "He  was  shot  afterwards."  He  said,  "You  killed  a  negro 
that  morning."  I  said  "Yes,  sir,  and  we  captured  Captain  Mason, 
his  orderly  sergeant  and  two  of  his  privates."  During  the  con 
versation  he  asked  me  about  a  number  of  the  scouts,  calling  their 
names,  and  finally  he  came  to  my  name,  and  said,  "Where  is 
Scott?"  I  said,  "Here  he  is,  talking  to  you."  I  asked  him  where 
he  got  those  names.  He  said,  "I  have  got  all  of  the  names  right 
here  in  my  satchel."  He  showed  me  the  names  of  General  Hamp 
ton's  and  General  Butler's  scouts.  He  told  me,  "I  have  a  petition 
here  in  my  valise  that  was  written  by  Shadbourne  asking  per 
mission  to  organize  a  company  of  scouts  to  operate  inside  of  the 
Federal  lines,  approved  by  General  Hampton  and  disapproved  by 
Generals  Stuart  and  Lee  on  the  ground  that  it  was  too  large  a 
squad  to  operate  inside  the  enemy's  lines."  I  asked  the  Colonel 
where  he  got  it,  and  he  said  he  took  it  out  of  Shadbourne's  pocket. 
I  said,  "If  you  took  it  out  of  Shadbourne's  pocket,  it  must  have 
been  the  morning  you  surrounded  the  house  we  were  in  at  Des- 
potona,  Mrs.  Tatum's  house."  He  said,  "Yes."  He  asked,  "Were 


110  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

you  in  that  house?"  I  told  him  I  was,  and  asked  what  damage 
we  did.  He  said,  "You  killed  and  wounded  twenty-six  of  my 
men.  You  had  a  gallant  little  band.  We  had.you  surrounded  in 
the  house  and  you  fought  your  way  out  and  got  away."  Colonel 
M.  B.  Birdseye  was  colonel  of  the  Second  New  York  Cavalry,  and 
lives  at  Fayetteville,  N.  Y. 


I  don't  recall  the  exact  time,  but  Polly  Eison,  three  other  men 
and  myself  took  nineteen  horses  out  of  the  Yankee  camp  at  Snow 
Hill,  N.  C.,  in  1865,  when  Sherman  was  going  through  the  State. 
There  was  a  Yankee  guard  sitting  by  the  fire  and  the  flag  was 
sticking  up  in  the  ground.  After  we  carried  the  horses  off,  I  told 
the  boys  to  wait  on  me,  that  I  was  going  back  and  get  that  head 
quarters  flag.  I  crawled  up  to  within  about  five  yards  of  the 
fellow,  and  just  about  the  time  I  was  going  to  make  a  grab  for 
the  flag  he  saw  me  and  said,  "Halt,  halt."  I  jumped  behind  the 
tent.  I  could  have  killed  him  and  got  the  flag,  but  I  didn't  want 
to  shoot  and  disturb  the  camp,  for  we  were  in  a  close  place.  We 
had  a  citizen  along  who  was  piloting  us.  He  piloted  us  back  to 
the  bridge,  and  we  intended  to  capture  the  vidette  and  cross  the 
bridge,  but  the  Yankees  beat  us  to  the  bridge  and  set  fire  to  it. 
We  went  to  the  river  with  the  horses,  nineteen  of  them  besides 
five  of  our  own,  and  rode  up  and  down  the  river  until  we 
found  a  place  where  we  could  get  out  on  the  opposite  side.  We 
then  dismounted  and  pushed  the  horses  into  the  stream  and  swam 
across  the  river,  three  at  a  time  until  we  got  them  all  across.  That 
evening  we  stopped  at  a  house  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
and  saw  a  column  of  Yankee  cavalrymen  coming  up  with  a  flag 
of  truce.  They  could  have  captured  all  of  us,  but  we  went  out 
to  meet  them,  and  they  said  they  had  a  letter  to  deliver  to  some 
young  lady  in  the  neighborhood ;  but  we  knew  there  was  no  such 
lady  in  the  neighborhood.  I  said  to  them,  "That  is  not  what  you 
are  after.  This  citizen  says  there  is  no  such  lady  in  this  neigh 
borhood.  You  want  to  find  out  who  went  into  your  camp  last 
night  and  took  your  horses.  We  are  the  men  that  did  it.  We 
took  nineteen  head  of  horses  from  you  last  night.  We  are  Gen 
eral  Butler's  scouts."  He  said  he  was  very  glad  to  find  out  who 
had  taken  the  horses,  for  they  were  under  the  impression  the 
citizens  had  taken  them.  I  said,  "No,  sir;  we  did  it  ourselves." 
I  then  told  him  to  go  along  back  with  his  flag  of  truce. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  Ill 

In  1864  we  were  in  the  rear  of  Grant's  Army,  down  near  City 
Point.  Grant  had  about  four  or  five  thousand  head  of  cattle  there, 
and  we  watched  these  cattle  for  two  weeks,  trying  to  get  General 
Hampton  to  go  there  and  capture  them.  We  piloted  General 
Hampton  down  one  day,  and  that  morning  he  said,  "If  I  can  get 
to  the  cattle  without  being  discovered,  I  can  bring  them  out." 
We  carried  him  down  where  the  cattle  were.  I  heard  Dick 
Hogan,  chief  of  General  Butler's  scouts,  tell  General  Hampton: 
"General,  right  yonder  under  that  tree  stands  the  vidette,  and 
there  is  a  barricade  just  beyond  that  vidette,  and  about  half  a 
mile  back  is  the  regiment  that  is  guarding  these  cattle."  He  told 
General  Rosser  this.  General  Hampton  had  told  us  just  the  day 
before  he  wanted  the  scouts  to  stay  with  him,  but  the  soldiers 
always  said  that  the  scouts  always  stirred  up  the  fight  and  then 
we  would  run.  Hogan  said  to  us,  "Boys,  do  you  want  to  go  into 
the  fight?"  We  told  him  "Yes."  He  said,  "Well,  cut  across  this 
column  and  get  in  front  and  join  Rosser."  They  asked,  "What 
men  are  these  in  front?"  We  told  them  we  were  General  Butler's 
scouts.  As  the  vidette  fired,  we  rode  right  along  and  fired  at  him 
to  kill  him.  Seven  or  eight  shot  at  him.  We  charged  right 
through  the  barricade  and  kept  right  on  to  the  camp,  expecting 
General  Rosser  to  come  on,  but  nobody  charged  that  camp  but 
General  Butler's  scouts,  and  we  got  whipped.  We  were  shooting 
at  them  right  in  tlieir  tents.  There  was  a  scout  in  front  by  the 
name  of  McCalla,  and  he  said  to  me,  "Scott,  I  am  shot."  I  asked 
him  if  he  wanted  me  to  go  back  with  him,  and  about  that  time  I 
was  shot  through  the  wrist,  and  a  Yankee  knocked  Walker  Russell 
off  his  horse  with  the  butt  of  his  gun.  We  went  back  and  joined 
Rosser,  who  had  gone  into  the  fight.  General  Hampton  then  told 
him  to  dismount  his  men  and  take  the  camp.  We  captured  the 
whole  regiment  and  drove  out  2,468  head  of  cattle.  We  drove 
them  back  and  got  them  into  our  camp  the  next  night.  That 
evening  the  Yankees  caught  us,  having  got  in  front,  and  we  had 
a  fight  about  four  o'clock  that  evening,  but  we  whipped  them 
out  and  brought  the  cattle  on.  The  cattle  stretched  along  the  road 
for  seven  miles.  I  never  saw  such  a  sight  in  my  life.  They  were 
the  finest  cattle  I  ever  saw.  The  names  of  Butler's  scouts  who 
led  this  charge  were  J.  D.  Hogan,  Walker  Russell,  Bill  Turner, 
J.  C.  Colvin,  Jim  Dulin,  —  Simmons,  Jim  Niblet,  Shake  Harris, 


112  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Hugh   Scott,  Dan   Tanner,  Jim   Sloan,  -  -  McCalla,  and  Jack 
Shoolbred. 


On  the  llth  March,  1865,  we  went  into  the  town  of  Fayette- 
ville,  N.  C.  I  was  riding  along  with  General  Hampton  at  the 
head  of  Wheeler's  Cavalr}^.  I  asked  the  General  how  long  he 
proposed  to  stay  in  town,  and  he  told  me  he  wanted  to  get  break 
fast.  He  said,  "I  will  stop  at  the  hotel."  I  asked  him  if  I  could 
stop  at  a  private  house.  He  said,  "Yes,  but  report  to  me  at  the 
hotel."  I  rode  up  on  the  sidewalk  and  hitched  my  horse  to  the 
fence,  and  knocked  at  the  door  of  a  house.  A  lady  came  to  the 
door,  and  I  asked  her  if  I  could  get  breakfast.  She  told  me  to 
come  in,  that  breakfast  was  on  the  table.  I  sat  down  and  ate  my 
breakfast.  When  I  got  out  of  the  house,  Wheeler's  Cavalry  were 
running  back,  helter  skelter,  and  I  jumped  on  my  horse  and  asked 
them  what  was  the  matter.  They  replied  the  Yankees  had 
charged  the  center  of  the  column  and  cut  them  in  two.  I  knew 
that  my  duty  was  to  go  to  General  Hampton,  so  I  sat  on  my  horse 
until  the  crowd  passed  by,  and  after  they  got  by  I  rode  out  in 
the  center  of  the  street  and  looked  down  towards  Cape  Fear  River 
for  about  ten  blocks.  I  could  see  cavalry  down  the  street,  but  I 
rode  on  down  by  myself.  There  was  a  market  house  right  in  the 
center  of  the  street,  and  a  cross  street.  I  saw  ten  or  fifteen 
Yankees  sitting  on  their  horses  about  ten  steps  from  the  corner. 
They  fired  at  me  as  I  passed  and  I  gave  them  one  shot.  I  rode  on 
down  to  Cape  Fear  bridge,  and  General  Hampton  was  there 
trying  to  rally  the  men,  but  he  could  not  do  so.  I  galloped  up  to 
him  and  said,  "General,  there  are  not  over  ten  or  fifteen  Yankees 
here.  Give  me  four  or  five  men,  and  I  will  whip  them  out  of 
town."  In  his  memorial  address  in  South  Carolina,  in  describing 
this  affair,  General  Hampton  said:  "One  of  my  scouts,  a  beard 
less  boy,  Scott  by  name,  galloped  up  to  me  and  said,  'General, 
there  are  not  over  a  hundred  Yankees  here.  Give  me  five  or  six 
men  and  I  will  whip  them  out  of  town.'  That  boy  so  inspired  me, 
that  I  said,  'You  scouts  follow  me.'  r 

He  said  to  me,  "Scott,  where  are  they?"  I  told  him  to  the  left 
of  the  market  house.  As  we  turned  the  corner  they  commenced 
firing  on  us,  and  we  on  them.  General  Hampton  said,  "Charge 
them."  We  charged  up  to  them  and  shoved  our  pistols  right  in 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  113 

their  faces  and  got  them  started  on  the  run,  up  one  street  and 
down  another,  consequently  some  of  them  who  had  gone  towards 
the  bridge  got  behind  us.  After  we  had  killed  or  captured  most 
of  this  squad  we  were  after,  I  looked  and  saw  some  behind  us, 
and  I  yelled,  "General  here  they  are  behind  us."  General  Hamp 
ton  said:  "Men,  sit  still  and  pick  them  off  one  by  one  as  they 
come  down."  They  came  down  as  hard  as  they  could,  and  we 
picked  them  off.  I  saw  General  Hampton  cut  down  two  with  his 
sabre  that  morning.  I  saw  one  Yankee  jump  off  his  horse  and 
run  into  a  back  yard  and  put  his  horse  in  a  stable.  After  the 
fight  was  over,  I  went  back  to  this  yard  and  found  the  fellow  in  a 
kitchen  behind  a  safe,  and  I  brought  him  out.  We  killed  thirteen 
and  captured  twelve.  We  captured  Captain  Duncan  and  Dan 
Day,  who  was  in  a  Confederate  uniform.  Dan  Day  was  chief  of 
scouts  of  the  Seventeenth  Army  Corps,  and  Captain  Duncan  was 
chief  of  scouts  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  in  Sherman's  command. 
General  Hampton  asked  Dan  Day,  "What  are  you  doing  in  a 
Confederate  uniform?"  He  made  some  reply,  and  General 
Hampton  told  him  he  would  have  him  shot.  General  Hampton 
had  with  him  in  this  affair  Privates  Wells,  Bellinger  and  Fish- 
burne  of  the  Charleston  Light  Dragoons,  Scott  and  one  member 
of  General  Wheeler's  command. 


Copy  of  letter  written  by  General  Hampton  in  regard  to  the 
Fayetteville  affair: 

Hd.  Qrs.  Cavalry,  19  March,  1865. 
Lieutenant : 

I  take  great  pleasure  in  commending  to  you  Privates  Wells,  Bellenger, 
and  Fishburne  of  your  company,  who,  with  Privates  Scott  and  one  member 
of  General  Wheeler's  command,  whose  name  I  regret  I  do  not  know,  acted 
with  conspicuous  gallantry  in  charging  and  driving  from  the  town  of 
Fayetteville  that  party  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  which  entered  the  town  before 
it  had  been  evacuated  by  our  troops.  Their  conduct  on  this  occasion 
reflects  high  credit  upon  them  as  soldiers. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obt.  Servt, 

WADE  HAMPTON, 

Lt.  Harleston,  Lieut.  General. 

Commanding  Co.  "K,"  4th  S.  C.  Cavalry. 

8— B.  C. 


114  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


WHO  STARTED  THE  WAR? 

4) 

The  Star  of  the  West  was  fired  on  in  the  Charleston  harbor 
9th  January,  1861,  but  the  first  disunion  speech  ever  made  in  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives  was  by  Josiah  Quincy. 
of  Massachusetts,  in  regard  to  the  Louisiana  Enabling  Act,  14th 
January,  1811.  He  said : 

"I  am  compelled  to  declare  it  as  my  deliberate  opinion,  that  if 
this  bill  passes,  the  bonds  of  this  Union  are  virtually  dissolved; 
that  the  States  which  compose  it  are  free  from  their  moral  obli 
gations,  and  that  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all,  so  it  will  be  the 
duty  of  some  to  prepare  definitely  for  a  separation — amicably  if 
they  can,  violently  if  they  must." 

Behold  the  sower  (Mr.  Quincy)  went  forth  to  sow  Secession 
seed.  This  same  seed  took  root  and  slowly  grew  for  exactly  half 
a  century  and  proved  to  be  the  nucleus  around  which  the  bloodiest 
war  of  modern  times  was  lighted  up. 

Question,  who  started  the  war  ? 

I  know  that  men  from  all  races  and  nations  of  the  world  were 
enlisted  to  follow  the  greatest  general  of  the  English-speaking 
people  to  Appomattox  to  see  him  surrender  his  eight  thousand 
muskets. 

Was  Mr.  Josiah  Quincy  a  traitor? 

No. 

Was  President  Jefferson  Davis  a  traitor  ? 

How  could  he  be  if  Mr.  Josiah  Quincy  was  not  ? 


The  Capture  of  a  Gunboat  in  Edisto  River 
(CHARLES  MONTAGUE.) 

This  is  the  capture  of  a  gunboat  in  Edisto  River,  10th  July, 
1863,  by  Walter's  Battery  assisted  by  a  company  of  cavalry  of 
Butler's  Cavalry,  and  the  story  of  one  of  Butler's  scouts  in  Fort 
Delaware. 

In  1862  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  South  Carolina  Cavalry  was 
stationed  on  the  coast  of  that  State  with  regimental  headquarters 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  115 

at  Adams  Run.  Company  "B"  was  on  detached  service  at  Jack- 
sonborough,  a  small  station  on  the  Charleston  and  Savannah 
Railroad,  a  few  hundred  yards  south  of  the  railroad  bridge  over 
the  Edisto  River.  This  company  did  picket  duty  at  Bennett's 
Point  on  Bear's  Island  at  a  point  where  a  cut  off  from  the  Edisto, 
called  Musquito  Creek,  enters  the  Ashepoo.  At  this  point  there 
was  an  oyster  bed  and  we  feasted  on  oysters  whenever  we  were 
there.  The  road  from  the  railroad  station  at  Jacksonborough  ran 
down  by  Glover's  plantation,  then  by  Clifford's  plantation,  about 
a  mile  below  where  it  entered  Titi  Swamp  (I  do  not  know  if  I 
spell  that  name  correctly)  a  low,  marshy  place  several  miles  in 
extent,  with  no  timber  thereon,  and  through  this  swamp  the  road 
had  been  made  by  throwing  up  a  levee  and  making  a  causeway 
thereon  of  logs,  etc.  After  traversing  this  causeway  four  or  five 
miles,  the  road  entered  on  dry  land,  called  Bear's  Island,  and  on 
this  island  at  a  house  called  by  us  the  "White  House"  the  reserve 
station  was  usually  stationed,  generally  consisting  of  eighteen  or 
twenty  men  from  our  company,  and  sometimes  commanded  by  a 
commissioned  officer  and  sometimes  by  a  non-commissioned. 
About  half  way  through  that  "Titi"  Swamp,  a  small  levee 
branched  off  from  the  causeway  and  ran  for  about  250  yards  down 
to  a  small  patch  of  dry  land,  just  at  the  bank  of  the  river  and 
inhabited  in  1863  by  a  family  of  negroes,  who  had  a  little  corn 
field  of  an  acre  or  two  between  the  house  and  the  causeway.  Just 
opposite  this  little  negro  patch,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Edisto, 
was  a  small  bluff  called  Willtown,  and  on  this  was  a  slight  forti- 
cation  occupied  at  that  time  by  a  battery  of  light  artillery,  whose 
I  have  forgotten,  whilst  in  the  river  between  the  bluff  and  the 
negro  patch,  two  or  three  row^s  of  heavy  piling  had  been  driven, 
that  obstructed  the  passage  of  vessels  up  the  river;  from  this  place 
up  to  the  railroad  bridge  there  was  nothing  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river  to  prevent  vessels  from  ascending,  and  I  do  not  think 
that  there  was  anything  on  the  north  side.  We  all  thought  that 
the  little  fortification  at  Willtown  and  the  piling  in  the  river  was 
sufficient.  On  each  side  of  the  causeway  and  the  little  levee  had 
grown  up  very  high  and  thick  rows  of  blackberry  bushes.  About 
two  miles  from  our  camp  at  Jacksonborough,  down  the  railroad 
was  encamped  Captain  George  H.  Walter's  Battery  of  the  Wash 
ington  Artillery,  mostly  Charleston  boys,  I  think ;  at  Green  Pond, 


116  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

near  the  Ashepoo,  was  brigade  headquarters,  but  I  forget  whether 
General  Hagood  or  General  Robertson  was  in  command.  On 
the  morning  of  the  10th  of  July,  that  year,  we  were  aroused  about 
daylight,  or  a  little  before,  by  discharges  of  artillery  down  the 
river.  In  a  few  minutes  thereafter,  Lieutenant  John  Bauskett, 
then  in  command  of  the  company,  came  down  to  my  mess  and 
ordered  W.  B.  Brooks  (whom  we  always  called  Fely)  and  myself 
to  go  down  the  river  and  ascertain  what  that  firing  was  about. 

Fely  and  I  mounted  and  went  down  the  road.  Just  after  we 
passed  the  railroad  station,  the  firing  ceased  and  we  rode  on  to 
Clifford's,  where,  near  the  bank  of  the  river  was  a  large,  two- 
story  rice  barn,  with  a  scuttle  hole  in  the  roof,  from  which  one 
could  have  a  pretty  good  view  over  "Titi"  Swamp  nearly  to  Will- 
town  (the  river  at  Clifford's  makes  a  bend  of  several  hundred 
yards  towards  the  north).  Tying  our  horses,  we  ascended  to  the 
scuttle,  and  Fely  went  upon  the  roof  and  then  called  to  me, 
"Charlie,  I  see  three  vessels  down  there  at  Willtown,  and  every 
thing  appears  to  be  quiet;  come  up  here  and  look."  I  went  out 
on  the  roof  and  looked  and  could  see  plainly  the  vessels,  but  could 
not  tell  what  they  were  doing,  as  we  had  no  glasses;  we  came 
down,  talked  over  the  matter  together,  and  then  decided  that 
Fely  should  hurry  back  to  Lieutenant  Bauskett  and  tell  him  all 
that  we  had  seen,  and  say  that  we  thought  the  Yankees  must  have 
whipped  the  battery  at  Willtown  and  were  pulling  up  the  piling 
in  the  river,  whilst  I  should  go  down  the  causeway  through  Titi 
and  ascertain  if  they  had  landed  and  taken  possession  of  any  part 
of  the  causeway.  We  had  at  that  time,  as  well  as  I  recollect, 
eighteen  men  on  Bear's  Island,  under  the  command  of  Corporal 
John  Briggs,  a  most  excellent  soldier,  with  lots  of  grit  in  him. 
Fely  Brooks  started  back  in  a  gallop  and  I  rode  down  to  the 
causeway  and  down  it,  concealing  myself  and  horse  behind  the 
blackberry  briers  until  I  came  to  a  small  levee  leading  to  the 
negro's  patch  opposite  Willtown,  when  I  could  plainly  see  the 
enemy  at  work,  but  could  not  see  what  they  were  doing.  Having 
ascertained  that  the  causeway  was  clear,  I  went  back  to  my  horse 
and  then  rode  back.  About  100  yards  or  a  little  more  from  the 
mainland,  I  met  Lieutenant  Bauskett,  with  Fely  Brooks  and  the 
company.  I  reported  to  him  and  he  said  that  he  was  going  down 
to  the  little  levee,  and  hold  the  causeway  until  Corporal  Briggs 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  117 

and  his  men  should  get  by,  adding:  "I  am  not  going  to  lose 
those  men  without  making  an  effort  to  save  them."  We  suggested 
to  him  that  if  he  went  down  that  causeway,  the  gunboats  would 
sweep  us  off  it,  and  then  he  started  one  man,  Reuben  Richardson, 
as  nearly  as  I  can  now  recollect,  down  the  road,  telling  him  to 
ride  as  fast  as  he  could  and  order  Briggs  to  bring  out  the  pickets 
as  quickly  as  he  could,  then  he  went  back  to  the  mainland  and 
dismounting  the  company,  left  the  horses  there  and  we  went  on 
foot  down  the  causeway,  concealing  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could 
behind  the  blackberry  bushes,  and  we  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
little  levee  without  being  discovered.  Here  Lieutenant  Bauskett 
had  the  men  to  lie  down  by  the  side  of  the  causeway,  and  taking 
Fely  Brooks  and  myself  with  him,  went  down  the  little  levee  to 
the  negro  patch  and  lay  down  just  outside  of  his  little  field.  We 
could  plainly  hear  somebody  about  the  negro's  house  catching 
pigs  and  poultry,  and  the  gallant  lieutenant  said,  "If  any  of  them 
come  out  here  where  we  can  see  them  we  will  take  them  in,"  but 
none  of  them  came,  and  after  lying  there  for  perhaps  three- 
fourths  of  an  hour,  the  lieutenant  said  it  was  about  time  for 
Briggs  to  be  going  by,  so  we  had  better  get  back  to  the  cause^vay. 
This  we  did,  and  in  a  little  while  we  sawr  the  corporal  and  his  men 
coming  in  a  gallop;  the  Yankees  apparently  did  not  discover 
them  until  they  had  gotten  nearly  to  us.  When  they  did,  the 
three  boats  opened  on  them  with  shell.  Down  on  their  horses' 
necks  leaned  the  men  as  they  rode  through  us  on  the  run.  As  they 
passed,  the  dismounted  men  jumped  up  and  started  after  them, 
but  they  did  not  turn  their  attention  to  us.  For  two  miles  or 
more  over  that  causeway,  the  shells  screamed  over  us.  We  would 
drop  to  the  ground  every  few  minutes  and  then  up  and  on,  we 
wished  those  blackberry  briers  had  been  sand  banks  forty  feet 
through.  I  ran  until  I  wras  exhausted,  then  commenced  to  walk 
along.  George  Addison  stopped  with  me,  and  said:  "Charlie, 
they  can  shell  all  they  want  to,  I'm  run  down,  I  can't  go  any 
faster."  And  just  then  we  heard  the  report  of  some  more  guns 
and  we  both  stopped,  and  almost  immediately  a  shell  went  over 
us  so  close  that  we  felt,  or  imagined  we  felt,  the  air  from  it.  We 
sprang  up  and  George  yelled  out:  "Great  God,  Montague,  that 
was  close;  if  we  had  been  standing  both  of  us  would  have  been 
cut  in  two."  And  he  started  off  again  in  a  hurry.  I  trotted  after 


118  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

him,  but  we  could  not  go  fast  and  had  to  slow  down  in  a  few 
steps.  Although  we  were  shelled  for  two  miles  or  more,  not  a 
man  was  hurt  by  this  fire.  Every  shell  sank  ir^to  the  mud  of  the 
swamp  as  it  fell,  and  if  one  exploded  I  did  not  see  it  or  hear 
of  it. 

As  we  emerged  from  the  swamp,  we  found  Lieutenant  S.  G. 
Horsey,  who  had  arrived  with  his  artillery  company,  one  com 
pany  of  the  Washington  Artillery.  He  told  Lieutenant  Bauskett 
that  the  only  suitable  place  he  had  found  from  which  to  make  a 
fight  was  Glover's  plantation ;  we  rode  back  towards  it,  and  as  we 
passed  Clifford's,  the  lieutenant  said  that  he  wanted  a  man  left 
to  watch  that  point  and  let  him  know  when  the  gunboats  passed 
there.  Bauskett  detailed  me,  and  I  rode  behind  the  rice  barn 
and  waited,  how  long  I  do  not  remember,  perhaps  three- fourths 
of  an  hour,  when  I  saw  two  boats  turn  the  bend  and  come  straight 
towards  me.  As  I  rode  from  the  barn  and  came  into  view  of  them 
again,  they  commenced  shelling,  to  find  out  if  any  more  Rebs  were 
there,  I  suppose.  I  watched  them  until  they  had  passed  the  land, 
and  then  I  rode  in  a  run  and  found  Lieutenant  S.  G.  Horsey  had 
stationed  four  pieces  of  his  artillery  in  the  road  behind  a  rose 
hedge,  through  which  they  had  cut  openings  for  the  guns.  He 
had  an  open  field  all  the  way  to  the  river,  about  400  yards,  I 
think,  but  could  not  see  a  boat  until  it  passed  the  point  of  some 
heavy  timber,  growing  just  below  the  field.  I  informed  him  that 
the  boats  had  passed  Clifford's  without  landing,  and  he  told  me 
that  he  did  not  need  me  further,  and  to  rejoin  Company  "B," 
which  was  up  the  road  a  little  waj^.  I  rode  about  two  hundred 
yards  and  found  a  part  of  the  company,  holding  the  horses,  and 
they  said  Lieutenant  Bauskett  had  taken  the  balance  of  the  com 
pany  to  the  river  near  Glover's  house.  I  gave  one  of  the  men  my 
horse  and  went  down  to  the  house  and  between  it  and  the  river, 
behind  a  little  hedge  of  box,  I  found  the  brave  lieutenant  and  the 
men  lying  down.  I  asked  him  what  they  were  going  to  do  there, 
and  he  said :  "If  the  gunboats  succeed  in  passing  Walters's  bat 
tery  we  are  going  to  sweep  them  with  our  carbines."  If  I  recollect 
correctly,  the  main  channel  of  the  river,  up  which  the  boats  would 
have  to  come,  was  within  seventy-five  yards  of  our  position,  and 
we  had  about  fifty  men  there  with  muzzle-loading  Enfield  car 
bines  with  which  to  "sweep  them."  I  remarked  to  the  lieutenant : 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  119 

"Do  you  think  we  can  do  it?"  And  Jie  said  we  would  have  to; 
that  if  they  passed  the  battery  there  was  nothing  else  to  stop  them 
but  our  company,  and  if  we  did  not  do  it  they  would  destroy  the 
railroad  bridge.  I  laid  down  beside  my  old  chum,  Fely  Brooks, 
and  he  whispered  to  me :  "Charlie,  we  are  in  a  tight  place."  And 
I  answered,  yes,  but  we  would  have  to  stand  it,  and  I  thought 
the  artillery  boys  could  whip  them.  About  ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
after  I  got  there  one  of  the  boats  poked  her  nose  out  past  the  point 
of  timber,  but  not  until  she  came  out  in  full  view  did  the  artillery 
open  on  her,  and  either  at  the  first  or  second  shot  the  splinters 
flew  from  her,  and  those  Charleston  boys  behind  those  guns  gave 
a  big  yell,  and  for  one  who  was  not  as  scared  as  I  was  then,  for 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  there  was  as  pretty  a  little  artillery  duel 
as  one  ever  saw.  Every  time  the  splinters  flew  from  the  boat 
Walter's  boys  yelled  (we  did  not  want  them  to  know  we  were 
there,  so  we  kept  quiet).  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  battery  had 
whipped  them  completely,  they  fell  back  behind  the  timber,  one 
of  the  boats  being  badly  crippled  and  smoking  terribly.  They 
retreated  down  the  river  and  abandoned  her  at  the  piling  at  Will- 
town,  where  next  day  Lieutenant  Bauskett.  Fely  Brooks,  myself, 
Uly  Brooks  (I  think)  and  another  man,  named  Bill  Busbee,  went 
on  the  wreck,  but  the  fellows  from  the  other  side  of  the  river  at 
Willtown  and  elsewhere  had  already  been  there  and  despoiled  her 
of  everything  that  the  Yanks  had  left  except  a  few  canister  shot. 
In  writing  this  reminiscence  I  have  had  two  objects  in  view : 
one  was  to  try  to  do  justice  to  that  gallant  company,  Captain 
George  H.  Walters's  battery  of  the  Washington  Artillery,  who, 
in  my  opinion,  have  been  badly  treated  in  the  only  report  I  have 
ever  seen  of  this  affair,  that  of  Major  Johnson  in  his  work,  "The 
Defence  of  Charleston  Harbor,"  in  which  he  says  nothing  at  all 
of  the  brave  fight  they  made  wThich  saved  the  railroad  bridge. 
You  were  there,  as  well  as  your  brother,  Fely,  and  myself,  and 
you  know  that  there  was  nothing  to  stop  the  Yankee  gunboats 
except  that  battery  of  Captain  Walters's.  After  they  passed 
Willtown  they  had  no  fort,  no  breastwork  of  any  kind,  and  they 
planted  their  four  little  guns  in  the  shallow  trench  made  for 
the  horse  hedge,  and  they  fought  them  so  effectively  that  they 
ruined  one  boat  and  caused  the  other  to  get  away  behind  that 
timber  as  fast  as  she  could.  Indeed,  I  heard  afterwards  that  the 


120  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

second  boat  was  also  damaged,  but  I  do  not  know  whether  this 
report  was  true  or  not.  But  we  and  all  the  members  of  Company 
"B"  do  know  that  Walters's  battery  saved  that  bridge  and  no 
other  command  did  it. 

I  have  always  believed  that  Fely  Brooks's  ride  back  to  the  com 
pany  with  the  report  that  he  made  caused  Lieutenant  Bauskett 
to  send  for  the  Washington  Artillery  to  come  in  time  and  thereby 
enabled  them  to  select  the  position  that  was  best  for  them  to  fight 
from.  It  is  hard  for  me  to  write  about  Fely  Brooks,  even  at  this 
late  day,  for  when  I,  after  serving  for  thirteen  months  in  the 
Second  Texas  mounted  riflemen,  out  on  the  Western  frontier  of 
that  State,  was  discharged,  being  only  seventeen,  returned  to 
South  Carolina  and  reenlisted  in  Company  UB,"  Sixth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  Fely  Brooks  was  one  of  the  first  to  welcome 
me  into  that  company,  and  from  that  day  until  his  death,  June 
12,  1864,  at  the  battle  of  Trevillion  Station,  Virginia,  I  ever  found 
him  to  be  as  brave  and  true  a  -soldier,  as  gallant  a  gentleman,  as 
close  a  friend  and  as  devoted  to  the  cause  of  our  loved  Southland 
as  any  man  that  ever  wore  the  gray.  I  am  glad  that  you  have 
dedicated  your  book  to  his  memory,  and  I  am  ready  at  any  time 
to  do  all  I  can  to  aid  you  in  these  reminiscences,  and  if  I  err  in 
any  of  my  recollections,  remember  that  it  is  not  intentional,  but 
the  fault  of  a  memory  that  was  in  my  young  days  good,  but  it  is 
not  now,  at  sixty-two,  as  good  as  it  was  at  eighteen. 

I  had  the  further  desire  to  let  the  people  who  have  come  since 
that  day,  and  those  who  will  come  after  us,  know  that  whilst  old 
Company  "B,"  being  cavalry,  did  not  and  could  not  do  much 
towards  stopping  those  gunboats,  they  did  all  they  could,  and 
were  ready  to  do  more  if^  they  had  been  called  upon,  and  I  am 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  if  those  brave  boys  of  Walters's  had 
not  whipped  the  gunboats  when  they  did,  there  would  not  have 
been  many  of  Company  "B"  left  to  tell  the  tale,  for  a  box  hedge 
would  have  been  rather  a  slender  protection  from  grape  shot 
and  canister  at  not  more  than  seventy-five  yards  distance. 

Always  your  old  comrade, 

CHAS.  MONTAGUE. 

P.  S. — Whilst  writing  reminiscences  one  has  occurred  to  me, 
in  which  I  had  no  part,  but  tell  it  as  it  was  told  to  me,  and  is  one 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  C.  FOSTER 
JACK    SHOOLBRED 


J.  C.   COLVIX 
CHARLES    MONTAGUE 


Captain  John   Foster   deserved  and  was  offered   promotion  by  Hampton    and   Butler, 
but  declined  to  leave  his  company. 


122  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

that  I  think  Colonel  Brooks,  now  in  his  old  age,  will  enjoy,  hence 
I  tell  it. 

In  1863,  whilst  we  were  encamped  at  Jacksenborough,  there 
were  two  boys,  brothers,  in  the  company,  named  Mitt  and  Mil- 
ledge  Scott,  who  came  from  some  part  of  the  backwoods  of 
Edgefield,  and  had  never  been  anywhere  else.  About  all  that 
they  knew  was  to  plough  straight  furrows  and  to  shoot  straight. 
In  their  conversation  they  used,  to  a  good  extent,  the  dialect  of 
their  Scotch  ancestors,  saying  "her"  when  they  should  say  "I," 
etc.  One  day  whilst  on  the  island  at  the  reserve  station,  these 
boys  got  permission  to  go  to  Bennett's  Point  to  get  oysters.  After 
they  had  gone,  Uly  Brooks,  a  mischievous  seventeen-year-old 
boy  in  the  company,  Jim  Kimball  and  three  others,  knowing  that 
it  would  be  some  time  in  the  night  before  the  Scotts  could  get 
back,  thought  it  would  be  a  good  joke  to  waylay  them  and  cap 
ture  at  least  the  oysters,  if  not  the  boys  themselves.  So  they  went 
down  the  road  towrards  the  Point,  about  half  wTay,  and  concealed 
themselves  by  the  side  of  the  road  in  an  old  field  grown  up  with 
broomstraw,  and  awaited  the  coming  of  the  boys.  After  dark 
awhile  the  two  Scotts  came  along  talking  to  themselves,  each  with 
a  sack  of  oysters  in  the  saddle  in  front  of  him;  just  as  they  got 
abreast  of  the  ambuscade  Uly  and  the  rest  sprang  up  and  shouted : 
"Surrender,  you  Kebels,  surrender,"  and  fired  off  their  guns;  the 
sacks  of  oysters  fell  to  the  ground,  the  horses  sprang  off,  but  only 
for  a  few  yards,  when  the  Scotts  checked  them  and,  unslinging 
their  guns,  wheeled  upon  the  jokers.  One  of  them  shouted  to  his 
brother,  "Here,  Mitt,  you  hold  her  creetur,"  and  down  from  his 
horse  he  sprang,  and  aiming  his  carbine  at  the  man  nearest  to 
him,  was  about  to  fire,  when  the  jokers  yelled:  "Don't  shoot, 
Milledge,  don't  shoot,  we  are  friends,  we  are  only  playing  a  joke." 
Mitt  Scott  said,  "We'ens  took  youens  for  Yankees."  Some  of  the 
others  say  that  Uly  Brooks  and  Kimball,  as  they  cried  out,  would 
jump  about  four  feet  in  the  air  and  yell :  "Don't  shoot,  Milledge, 
don't  shoot."  Well,  the  result  was  that  the  jokers  had  to  assist  in 
picking  up  the  oysters  and  act  as  an  escort  back  to  the  camp  for 
the  Scotts,  upon  whom  no  more  practical  jokes  were  played. 

The  above  is  absolutely  true. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  123 


THE  STORY  OF  ONE  OF  BUTLER'S  SCOUTS  IN 
FORT  DELAWARE 

J.  H.  Brent,  of  Cobbs's  Legion,  Georgia ;  -  -  Carroll,  of  Jeff 
Davis's  Legion,  and  myself  (John  H.  Pierce),  were  captured  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  3d  day  of  February,  1864,  by  Captain 
McDowell,  Seventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  in  Fauquier  County, 
Virginia.  We  had  left  our  horses  back  with  the  main  body  of 
scouts  under  the  command  of  Shadbourne,  and  started  across  the 
country,  having  left  the  public  roads,  hoping  to  dodge  Yankee 
scouting  parties — intending  to  go  over  into  the  Yankee  lines  and 
dine  with  a  family  by  the  name  of  Rector,  and  then  make  our 
way  back  by  a  Yankee  picket  post,  capture  them  and  their  horses 
and  get  out  of  the  Yankee  lines  before  they  could  give  chase.  We 
had  gotten  about  a  half  mile  within  the  Yankee  lines,  and  just  as 
we  were  about  to  cross  a  public  road  we  saw  a  column  of  Yankee 
cavalry  come  into  view,  and  as  we  saw  them  we  made  for  a  piece 
of  timber  land.  They  gave  chase  and  we  stopped  just  as  we 
reached  the  skirts  of  the  timber  and  waited  their  coming  within 
gunshot — two  of  us  being  armed  with  double-barreled  shotguns — 
and  fired,  wounding  several  of  their  horses. 

We  were  in  hopes  that  they  would  think  that  we  had  been  sent 
out  as  a  decoy,  but  they  would  not  take  the  bluff,  and  came 
charging  upon  us  and  surrounded  the  woods.  We  made  for  cover, 
hoping  to  be  able  to  secrete  ourselves  and  avoid  capture.  J.  H. 
Brent  ran  up  into  an  old  ravine  and  was  the  first  captured.  Carroll 
and  myself  ran  on  through  the  timber,  and  ran  out  into  the 
old  field,  covered  with  broom  sage  and  briers,  and  tried  to  evade 
the  Yankees.  In  the  meantime  Captain  McDowell  had  deployed 
his  men  about  twenty  feet  apart,  and  was  riding  abreast  over  the 
field.  Having  already  gone  through  the  piece  of  woodland  as  the 
Yankees  came  riding  through  the  field,  they  rode  over  us  without 
seeing  us.  They  had  gone  about  one  hundred  yards  beyond  us, 
when  their  commanding  officer  halted  his  men  and  ordered  them 
to  give  up  the  search,  as  we  had  escaped.  Upon  their  return  one 
of  the  Yankee  cavalrymen  spied  us  in  the  grass  and  ordered  us 
to  surrender.  As  we  rose  up  out  of  the  straw  and  briers  we  were 
met  with  a  volley  of  hisses  and  curses.  We  drew  our  pistols, 
cocked  them,  and  was  about  to  fire  into  the  Yankees  when  Captain 
McDowell  rode  up  and  ordered  his  men  to  attention.  They  paid 


JOHN    H.    PIERCE,    SCOUT 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  125 

little  or  no  attention  to  his  orders  at  first,  and  he  even  struck 
several  over  their  heads  with  the  side  of  his  sabre  before  he  could 
command  attention.  They  were  the  most  violent  set  of  Yankees 
I  ever  saw,  and  we  were  expecting  to  be  shot  every  minute,  yet 
we  intended  to  sell  our  lives  dearly.  We  surrendered  our  pistols, 
and  mounted  behind  some  of  the  troopers  and  started  back  to  the 
Yankee  camp.  As  soon  as  they  were  formed  I  reached  around 
the  big  Dutchman,  caught  hold  of  his  bridle  reins  and  ordered 
him  to  take  me  up  to  the  front  of  the  column,  where  I  could  see 
the  captain  in  command.  He  obeyed  and  rode  up  to  the  front, 
where  I  was  greeted  by  Captain  McDowell  in  the  most  gentle 
manly  manner.  One  of  his  first  remarks  was  that  if  all  the  Con 
federate  Army  was  composed  of  such  material  as  we  three,  the 
Yankees  had  better  quit  fighting,  as  they  could  never  whip  us. 
We  were  carried  to  General  Grant's  headquarters  and  put  under 
guard.  On  the  first  night  we  conceived  the  idea  of  making  our 
escape  from  the  guards,  stealing  horses  from  General  Grant's 
headquarters,  and  then  make  our  way  back  into  the  Confederate 
lines.  As  night  came  on  we  crawled  up  to  the  fence,  and  I  had 
mounted  and  was  about  to  make  my  leap  off  of  the  stockade 
fence  when  I  heard  a  sentinel  cock  his  gun,  and  I  fell  back  into 
the  enclosure  like  a  rock,  with  all  idea  for  the  time  being  of 
stealing  Grant's  horses  dissipated.  We  were  held  here  for  two 
days  in  sight  of  General  Grant's  headquarters,  where  we  could 
see  him  mount  and  ride  off  and  return,  and  then  we  were  sent  to 
Washington  City,  where  we  were  held  in  the  old  Capitol  building. 
Our  rations  at  this  place,  wrhile  plentiful,  were  not  palatable.  It 
consisted  of  light  bread,  salt  pork  and  sometimes  beef  for  dinner. 
For  breakfast  we  had  mush  and  molasses,  and  sometimes  tea.  On 
one  occasion,  while  at  breakfast,  while  being  held  here,  Brent 
remarked  that  the  diet  was  unfit  for  a  dog  to  eat.  This  was  over 
heard  by  one  of  the  Yankees,  who  retorted  that  it  was  better  than 
Lee's  fighting  men  had  in  the  field.  Brent  replied:  "Damn  an 
army  that  couldn't  live  on  air  and  fight  for  such  a  cause  as  ours." 
The  Yankee  replied  with  a  blow  in  Brent's  face.  I  felled  the 
Yankee  with  one  blow  under  the  eye.  A  Yankee  sergeant  came 
rushing  up  writh  a  squad  and  put  Brent,  Carroll  and  myself  out 
in  the  yard  with  about  one  hundred  Yankee  criminals,  charged 
with  every  imaginable  crime.  As  soon  as  we  were  out  into  the 


126  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

yard  the  door  was  locked  on  us,  and  then  began  such  a  melee  as 
I  have  seldom  seen.  As  soon  as  the  door  was  locked  the  Yankee 
who  had  struck  Brent  in  the  dining  room,  grabbed  him  by  his 
hair,  snatched  him  to  the  ground  and  kicked  *him  in  the  face 
with  a  pair  of  heavy  boots.  This  was  a  most  uneven  contest,  as 
Brent  was  a  very  small  man,  weighing  about  115  pounds,  while 
the  Yankee  weighed  twice  as  much.  Another  rushed  up  and 
knocked  Carroll  down  with  a  pair  of  brass  knucks.  For  some 
time  I  never  saw  anything  of  what  became  of  them,  as  a  big 
Englisman  rushed  up  and  made  at  me  with  his  fist.  I  parried 
his  blow,  struck  him  in  the  face  and  kicked  him  in  the  stomach, 
bringing  him  to  the  ground.  He  was  up  in  a  minute  and  rushing, 
with  his  eyes  shut,  like  a  mad  bull  upon  me.  I  repeated  the  dose, 
but  he  was  game  and  came  full  tilt  again.  About  this  time  the 
Yankee  prisoners  had  formed  a  circle  around  us,  and  began 
yelling:  "Give  him  hell,  Johnny  Reb ;  give  him  hell."  After  this 
had  gone  on  for  some  considerable  time  the  Yankee  sentinels  came 
up  and  stopped  the  fracas.  Brent  came  near  dying  from  the 
brutal  treatment  he  received  at  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  Yankee 
who  resented  his  remarks,  as  erysipelas  set  in  from  the  bruises 
before  he  had  recovered.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  smallpox 
among  the  prisoners,  I  myself  having  a  very  severe  case,  from 
which  I  came  near  dying.  After  I  had  recovered  from  the  small 
pox  I  also  had  erysipelas,  and,  while  I  was  in  the  hospital 
undergoing  treatment  for  it,  the  famous  Confederate  spy,  Belle 
Boyd,  who  was  also  in  prison,  although  she  had  access  to  the 
hospital,  came  around  through  my  ward.  I  well  never  forget 
her  as  she  appeared  on  this  occasion.  She  stopped  at  my  couch 
and  conversed  at  some  length  with  us  in  reference  to  our  cause, 
our  chance  for  success  and  our  mutual  experiences.  I  believe  she 
had  the  courage  to  undertake  anything  for  the  good  of  the  Con 
federate  service.  While  held  at  Washington  we  had  a  daily 
paper,  gotten  out  in  the  prison  by  Hennigan,  Second  South  Caro 
lina  Cavalry,  General  Butler's  old  regiment.  Hennigan  had  been 
one  of  the  scouts,  but  quit  them  and  raised  an  independent  com 
pany  in  Virginia.  After  we  left  Washington  City  I  do  not  know 
what  became  of  him.  About  the  first  day  of  June,  1864,  about 
four  hundred  of  us  were  driven  into  the  hull  of  an  old  cattle  boat 
and  taken  down  the  Potomac,  up  the  Chesapeake  Bay  into  <the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  127 

Delaware  Bay — thence  up  the  Delaware  River  to  Fort  Delaware. 
Soon  after  our  arrival  at  Fort  Delaware  our  rations  were  cut  in 
half,  the  cause  of  which  was  afterwards  ascertained  to  be  in 
retaliation  for  treatment  received  by  Yankee  prisoners  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Ga.  Our  diet  from  July,  1864,  to  the  date  of  our  release, 
June  the  10th,  1865,  consisted  of  one-half  pound  of  flour,  of  equal 
parts  of  beans  and  flour,  and  one-half  pound  of  salt  pork  or  beef 
per  day.  At  dinner  we  received  a  pint  of  corn  soup.  The 
suffering  among  our  soldiers  for  lack  of  proper  diet  wras  most 
severe.  Many  died  for  lack  of  nourishment,  and  thousands  died 
from  chronic  diarrhoea,  brought  on  from  lack  of  proper  nourish 
ment. 

Blankets  and  clothes  were  scarce  and  the  supply,  other  than 
that  which  we  had  when  captured,  consisted  of  those  which  came 
from  dead  comrades.  The  prisoners  were  buried  naked.  Our 
water  supply  was  hauled  by  boats  from  the  Schuylkill  River. 
Very  often  this  was  scarce  and  much  suffering  was  undergone  for 
lack  of  water.  On  several  occasions  we  were  compelled  to  resort 
to  salt  water  for  drinking  purposes.  The  prisoners  carried  on  all 
kinds  of  business  in  the  prison.  Some  made  finger  rings  and 
breastpins  out  of  gutta  purcha,  toothpicks  and  trinkets  of 
different  kinds  of  old  pieces  of  bone.  I  myself  was  engaged  in 
making  crude  jewelry,  from  the  proceeds  of  which  I  was  enabled 
to  purchase  many  luxuries,  such  as  corn  meal,  coffee,  sugar  and 
tobacco.  We  found  ready  sale  for  such  stuff,  principally  among 
sympathizers  on  the  outside.  We  would  send  them  out  by  pris 
oners  to  sell,  wrho  would  be  detailed  to  help  unload  vessels  and 
clean  up  officers'  quarters  at  the  fort.  I  myself  fared  very  well 
while  here,  as  I  had  several  friends  in  the  Yankee  lines,  who  cor 
responded  with  me  and  sent  me  remittances  under  the  guise  of 
relationship,  as  we  were  not  allowed  to  carry  on  a  correspondence 
with  any  other  than  a  relative.  There  was  a  Mrs.  Hill,  of  Phila 
delphia,  originally  of  Edgefield,  S.  C.,  who  used  to  send  clothes 
to  the  South  Carolina  prisoners;  yet  these  were  nothing  like 
enough  to  go  around,  although  they  prevented  much  suffering. 
One  of  the  most  amusing  incidents  of  my  prison  life  was  watching 
soldiers  take  rats  from  a  pair  of  ferrets  owned  by  an  officer  in  the 
fort,  who  would  bring  them  into  the  fort,  where  we  were  impris- 


128  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

oned,  to  catch  the  wharf  rats  that  had  burrowed  under  the  wall 
and  into  the  enclosure. 

Brent,  Carroll  and  myself  all  survived  the  prison  life.  Carroll 
is  now  living  in  Greensboro,  N.  C.  The  last  I  khew  of  Brent  he 
was  living  in  Atlanta. 

JOHN  H.  PIERCE. 


Nearly  all  of  our  dentists  went  to  the  army  to  plug  Yankees, 
and  perhaps  to  be  filled  with  lead  by  the  Yanks.  We  give  a 
Confederate  cure  for  toothache:  Take  equal  quantities  of  alum 
and  common  salt,  pulverize  and  mix  and  apply  to  the  hollow 
tooth  on  a  piece  of  wet  cotton.  The  remedy  is  very  simple,  cheap 
and  within  the  reach  of  all.  If  any  will  try  it  it  will  be  found 
infallible. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  129 


THE  MURDER  OF  BILLY  DULIN 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1863  at  Warrenton,  Va.,  a  body  of  our 
scouts  were  charged  by  Colonel  (afterwards  general)  Farns- 
worth  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry.  A  young  scout  by  name 
Billy  Dulin,  only  sixteen  years  old,  was  caught  under  his 
wounded  horse,  and  in  this  helpless  condition  surrendered. 
Colonel  Farnsworth  shot  the  lad  dead — which  was  then  and  is 
now  murder  to  kill  prisoners.  On  the  29th  June,  1863,  this  same 
Colonel  Farnsworth  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general,  and  had  assigned  to  him  three  regiments  of  cavalry — the 
First  Virginia,  Eighteenth  Pennsylvania  and  the  Fifth  New 
York. 

At  Gettysburg  on  the  3rd  day  of  July,  1863,  at  4  P.  M.,  General 
Kilpatrick  ordered  Farnsworth,  with  his  new  brigade,  to  charge, 
but  he  hesitated.  Kilpatrick  ordered  him  a  second  time,  which 
naturally  nettled  the  high-strung  brigadier,  and  he  said,  "I  will 
lead  a  charge  as  quick  as  you  or  any  other  man."  He  dreaded  to 
meet  Hampton's  Brigade  and  Bachman's  Battery,  but  there  was 
the  order  and  it  had  to  be  obeyed.  The  charge  was  made  and  his 
brigade  was,  of  course,  cut  to  pieces.  Farnsworth  was  wounded 
and  left  by  his  men  on  the  field.  Did  he  think  that  young 
Dulin's  friends  were  by  Hampton's  side?  We  know  not.  Did 
he  think  if  he  surrendered  that  he  would  suffer  young  Dulin's 
fate?  We  know  not.  But  we  do  know  that  he  deliberately  took 
his  own  pistol  and  blew  his  brains  out,  before  Hampton's  men 
could  stay  his  hand.  Was  this  remorse  or  cowardice  ?  We  know 
not.  He  was  a  desperate  fighter.  How  it  must  torture  a  high- 
strung  man  to  commit  such  a  horrible  deed  as  did  Farnsworth 
after  killing  this  beardless  youth  Dulin. 


)— B.   C. 


130  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


JACK  SHOOLBRED  SELLS  A  YANKEE  "NIGGER" 

In  the  fall  of  1864  the  fearless  scout  Jack  Shoolbred,  while 
scouting  for  Butler  in  rear  of  Grant's  Army,  captured  a  negro 
soldier  and  brought  him  to  General  Butler,  and  when  asked  what 
he  proposed  to  do  with  him,  said :  "Well,  General,  I  think  I  can 
sell  him  to  Dick  Hogan."  Captain  Hogan  gave  him  two  nice 
Yankee  horses  for  the  Yankee  negro.  Hogan  sent  the  negro  home 
and  put  him  in  the  cotton  patch.  Jack  Shoolbred  rode  one  of  the 
horses  (a  splendid  clay  bank)  until  the  end  of  the  war,  and 
brought  him  home. 


DICK    HOGAN,    CHIEF    OF   BUTLER'S    SCOUTS 

On  the  night  of  9th  March,  18(55,  Dick  Hogan  crawled  on  his  stomach — passed  Yankee 
provost  guard  and  notified  Jack  McCarley  and  others,  then  prisoners,  that  Butler  would 
charge  the  camp  next  morning  and  to  select  horses  and  men  that  suited  them  best. 


132  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BRANDY  STATION,  VIRGINIA 

(June  9th,  1863.) 
By  J.  D.  Hogan,  a  former  Scout  for  General  M.  C.  Butler,  C.  S.  A. 

On  June  the  9th,  1863,  as  the  morning  dawned  and  the  sun 
crept  high  up  the  blue  sky  a  great  commotion  was  in  evidence,  two 
mighty  armies  along  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  were 
manceuvering  for  the  mastery  of  position. 

General  Lee  had  so  adroitly  handled  his  men  that  the  Federal 
commanders  were  in  a  state  of  confusion  and  positive  alarm. 
The  Confederate  cavalry  fringed  the  south  side  of  the  river  from 
Kelly's  Ford  to  Waterloo — west  of  the  Rappahannock  bridge. 
The  Federal  cavalry  meantime  had  been  massed  north  of  the 
river,  a  mighty  force  whose  effort  had  been  to  locate  General 
R.  E.  Lee,  for  hitherto  his  movements  had  been  enveloped  in 
mystery.  But  soon  the  rattle  of  small  arms  and  the  thunder  of 
artillery  told  the  story  at  the  different  crossings  along  the  river. 
A  powerful  force  was  hurled  against  the  Confederate  cavalry  at 
"Waterloo"  and  "Jones's  Crossing,"  forcing  our  left  wing  back 
towards  Brandy  Station.  The  Federals  meantime,  with  a  force 
of  three  thousand  superb  cavalry,  crossed  the  river  at  Kelly's 
Ford,  sixteen  miles  from  where  the  battle  was  raging,  and  by  a 
rapid  march  endeavored  to  reach  our  rear.  General  Butler  was 
ordered  with  a  part  of  his  command  to  meet  them,  and  by  a 
dashing  movement  beat  them  to  Stevensburg.  Here  the  roads 
forked — one  leading  to  Brandy  Station,  the  other  to  Cul- 
pepper  Court  House.  Colonel  Frank  Hampton  (a  brother  of 
General  Wade  Hampton)  and  a  most  gallant  officer,  formed  his 
regiment,  the  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  in  front  of  Dag- 
gett's  house,  on  the  Kelly's  Ford  road;  and  250  yards  from  the 
forks  of  the  road  the  Fourth  Virginia  cavalry,  under  command 
of  Colonel  Beal,  was  formed  in  the  rear  of  a  pine  thicket  on 
Colonel  Hampton's  left  and  rear,  and  on  the  approach  of  the 
overwhelming  numbers,  Colonel  Hampton  fell  mortally  wounded 
in  this  desperate  encounter.  The  Fourth  Virginia  Cavalry  broke 
and  fled.  General  Butler,  with  that  courage  which  had  ever 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  133 

marked  his  career,  held  his  position  until  severely  wounded  by  a 
shell  which,  passing  through  his  horse  (a  chestnut  sorrel),  shat 
tered  his  leg  and  in  its  further  course  killed  Captain  Farley. 
With  five  to  one  against  him,  this  dashing  officer  secured  an 
advantage  by  driving  the  left  wing  of  the  enemy.  The  shock 
was  felt  all  along  the  line  as  hurriedly  they  crossed  the  Rappa- 
hannock  pursued  by  the  victorious  Confederates  under  Stuart, 
Hampton,  Fitz  Hugh  Lee  and  P.  M.  B.  Young. 

When  in  the  course  of  coming  events  the  true  history  of  a 
glorious  South  is  written  by  men  free  from  prejudice,  from 
malice,  and  from  hatred,  then  will  the  name  of  M.  C.  Butler  and 
the  heroes  of  the  "Lost  Cause"  stand  out  in  bold  relief,  and  gen 
erations  yet  unborn  will  point  with  pride  to  the  names  emblazoned 
on  monuments  erected  to  the  soldier-statesmen  of  the  old  South. 

J.   D.  HOGAN. 

Atkins,  Arkansas,  October  20th,  1908. 


134  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


BEAUTIFUL  TRIBUTE  TO  THE  PRIVATE  SOLDIER 

The  Battle  of  Cowpens  was  fought  17th  January,  1781.  At 
the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  General  Daniel  Morgan,  the  hero 
of  Cowpens,  on  llth  May,  1881,  at  Spartanburg,  a  salute  of 
thirteen  guns  were  fired  at  sunrise  by  the  Columbia  Flying  Artil 
lery,  Captain  J.  Q.  Marshall,  and  the  Spartanburg  Light 
Artillery,  Captain  T.  B.  Martin,  ushered  in  the  glories  of  this 
memorable  day,  their  thunder  reverberating  through  the  valleys 
and  shaking  the  foundation  of  this  historic  town.  In  his  speech, 
General  Hampton  on  this  occasion  paid  the  following  beautiful 
tribute  to  the  private  soldier : 

"It  is  one  of  the  incidents  of  war,  perhaps  an  unavoidable  one, 
that  officers  only  are  mentioned  in  the  reports,  while  it  is  the  hard 
fate  of  the  private  soldier  to  live  unknown  to  fame,  or  to  die 
for  his  country,  even  his  name  unrecorded  in  its  annals.  My 
experience  in  active  service  impressed  on  me  deeply  the  seeming 
injustice  of  the  discrimination  against  those  who  bear  the  heat 
and  burden  of  the  fight.  Under  the  tattered  jacket  of  the  private 
may  beat  a  heart  as  true  as  is  covered  by  the  braided  coat  of  the 
officer,  and  while  the  former  has  not  the  responsibility  of  the 
latter,  he  has  to  bear  far  greater  privations.  No  hope  of  glory 
can  inspire  his  conduct.  A  volunteer  in  the  cause  of  his  country, 
he  freely  offers  his  life  in  her  defence,  looking  for  no  reward  save 
that  given  by  the  consciousness  of  duty  performed.  All  honor 
to  the  private  soldiers  who  volunteer  in  their  country's  cause. 
Thousands  of  them,  earnest  and  devoted,  have  found  death  on 
many  a  battlefield  and  no  record  of  their  deeds  is  left ;  but  it  may 
be,  when  the  Great  Judge  of  the  Universe  summons  all  who  have 
died  to  answer  to  the  last  roll  call,  their  names  may  be  found 
there  in  letters  of  living  light." 

The  private  soldiers  of  the  Confederate  Army,  most  of  whom 
were  to  be  unknown  to  fame,  were  not  without  admiration  for 
their  general  officers. 

If  there  ever  were  two  generals  admired  and  loved  by  their 
men,  these  were  Wade  Hampton  and  M.  C.  Butler.  In  the 
language  of  Mr.  E.  L.  Wells :  "Butler  was  always  calm  and  cool 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  135 

when  in  action,  his  handsome,  clear-cut  face  showed  no  emotion 
as  he  scanned  the  details  of  the  battlefield."  But  for  the  over 
whelming  numbers,  bravery  and  persistent  courage  of  the  Union 
soldiers,  there  would  have  been  no  Appomattox  for  the  glorious 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  under  the  matchless  Lee. 

"Ah,    Muse,    you   dare   not   claim 

A  nobler  man  than  he, 
Nor  nobler  man  hath  less  of  blame, 
Nor  blameless  man  hath  purer  name, 
Nor  purer  name  hath  grander  fame, 

Nor  fame  another  Lee." 

I  would  be  unjust  were  I  to  doubt  the  courage  of  such  men  as 
formed  the  Eighth  Illinois,  Third  Indiana,  the  Fifth  Ohio,  the 
First  Maine  and  First  Michigan  and  Eighteenth  Pennsylvania 
cavalry  regiments,  and  others  equally  as  brave,  but  too  numerous 
to  mention.  No  generals  were  respected  more  by  our  cavalry  on 
the  Yankee  side  than  were  Major-General  W.  S.  Hancock  and 
Major-General  Gregg.  The  good  people  who  were  in  Columbia 
on  that  dreadful  night  of  the  17th  February,  1865,  will  never 
forget  the  hero  of  Sherman's  Army  wrho  belonged  to  the  Fifteenth 
Illinois  Cavalry  and  who,  at  the  risk  of  losing  his  own  life,  saved 
so  many  houses  from  being  destroyed  by  fire.  He  was  captured 
by  the  gallant  Colonel  Zimmerman  Davis,  of  the  Fifth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  24th  February,  1865, 
in  a  charge,  and  will  never  forget  the  kind  treatment  received  at 
the  hands  of  our  cavalry.  It  was  early  in  the  morning  of  this  very 
day  that  Butler  captured  a  wagon  train  just  on  the  Kershaw  side 
of  Lynch's  River,  and  as  soon  as  we  crossed  over  the  river  the 
Yankees  tried  to  recapture  it,  but  failed  in  the  attempt.  One  of 
Butler's  bravest  scouts,  Jim  Dulin,  was  severely  wounded  in  the 
thigh  in  this  little  fight,  and  it  wTas  with  much  regret  that  we  had 
to  leave  him  in  a  small  hut  near  the  river  on  the  Darlington  side. 
I  am  glad  to  say  that  he  is  now  living  at  his  old  home  near 
Manassas,  Va. 

In  the  fall  of  1862,  General  Hampton's  splendid  brigade  of 
cavalry,  composed  of  the  First  North  Carolina,  Second  South 
Carolina,  Cobbs's  Georgia  Legion,  Philips's  Georgia  Legion,  and 
the  Jeff  Davis  Legion,  were  camped  in  Culpepper  County,  Vir- 


136  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ginia,  where  they  were  jointed  by  the  First  South  Carolina 
Cavalry.  General  Hampton  sent  Sergeant  Bill  Mikler,  Prioleau 
Henderson,  Sergeant  Shira,  Huger  Mikler,  Barney  Hennegan, 
Newt.  Fowles,  Dick  Hogan,  Hugh  Scott,  Cecil  Johnson,  Jim 
Dulin,  John  Willingham,  Joe  Beck,  Jack  Shoolbred,  George 
Crofton  and  Calhoun  Sparks  (all  of  whom  belonged  to  Butler's 
old  regiment,  the  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,)  across  the 
Rappahannock  River  to  scout  in  Prince  William  County,  where 
they  were  afterwards  joined  by  Tom  Butler,  Wallace  Miller,  Joe 
Twiggs  and  John  Pierce.  They  were  a  magnificent  body  of  men. 
The  Yankees  called  these  boys  the  "Iron  Scouts,"  because  they 
recovered  so  quickly  after  being  wounded  and  seemed  to  be  free 
from  capture.  They  killed  and  captured  quite  a  number  of  the 
enemy,  and  had  many  almost  miraculous  escapes  and  performed 
gallant  deeds  long  to  be  remembered  by  the  good  people  of  Prince 
William  County.  They  harassed  the  enemy  by  frequently  charg 
ing  the  reserve  picket  post  and  by  ambuscading  their  scouting 
parties. 

On  one  of  the  scouting  raids,  Cecil  Johnson,  Tom  Butler  and 
Wallace  Miller  charged  a  scouting  party  of  the  First  Michigan 
Cavalry  near  Bacon  Race  Church  (the  Union  Army  was  then 
camped  at  Wolf  Run  Shoals),  and  captured  two  Yanks  and  ran 
the  others  back  into  their  camp.  Miller  captured  a  horse  and 
hurried  on  to  capture  another,  when  his  own  fell  and  threw  him 
off.  He  got  up  as  soon  as  possible^  grabbed  for  the  bridle  and  then 
the  stirrup,  but  his  horse  went  to  the  Yankees,  leaving  him  afoot. 
Tom  Butler  carried  the  prisoners  back  to  our  lines  on  the  Rap 
pahannock.  That  night  Johnson  and  Miller  made  an  attempt 
to  surround  and  capture  four  Yankees  on  picket,  but  changed 
their  minds  when  they  counted  thirty  others  at  the  same  post. 
The  next  morning  they  went  out  on  the  main  road  to  Manassas, 
expecting  to  meet  a  small  scouting  party,  but  much  to  their 
surprise  saw  about  sixty  of  the  First  Michigan  looking  for  them. 
One  of  their  number,  a  Frenchman  named  Joe  Keitzler,  rode  on 
the  edge  of  the  woods  to  warn  the  others  about  the  "bush 
whackers,"  as  they  called  our  scouts.  This  Frenchman  rode  so 
close  to  Miller  and  Johnson  that  they  placed  a  pistol  in  his  face 
and  told  him  in  an  undertone  to  dismount,  which  he  promptly 
did,  and  Johnson,  losing  sight  of  the  great  danger  they  were  in, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  137 

mounted  the  beautiful  horse  and  started  off,  but  Miller  made  him 
dismount  at  once  and  keep  the  horse  and  prisoner  secluded  behind 
some  bushes  from  the  enemy.  It  was  a  bitter  cold  day,  and  the 
men  never  thought  to  look  for  their  comrade,  the  Frenchman, 
who  was  a  prisoner  within  twenty  yards  of  them,  as  they  rode  by. 
Miller  kept  the  Frenchman  and  Johnson  kept  the  horse  and  rode 
him  every  day  until  he  was  killed  leading  a  charge  at  least  thirty 
feet  ahead  of  the  column  at  the  Battle  of  Upperville.  *  *  * 

"Brave  as  the  bravest  he  inarched  away 
Triumphant  waived  our  flag  that  day 
He  fell  in  front  of  it."  *  *  * 

Tom  Butler  was  killed  in  the  charge  on  the  3d  day  of  July, 
1863,  at  Gettysburg. 

"On  the  trampled  breast  of  the  battle  plain 

Where  the  foremost  ranks  had  wrestled, 
On  his  pale,  pure  face  not  a  mark  of  pain 
(His  mother  dreams  they  will  meet  again), 
The  fairest  form  amid  all  the  slain, 

Like  a  child  asleep  he  nestled." 


138  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


THE  "IRON  SCOUTS"  . 

General  Sherman  said  that  war  is  hell !  General  Forrest  said 
war  meant  to  kill!  The  former  used  what  the  devil  keeps  his 
dominions  running  with — fire.  The  latter  killed  because  that  was 
his  definition  of  war. 

When  either  side  gained  a  victory  that  merely  meant  that  one 
side  had  killed  more  than  the  other.  A  lady  asked  Wellington 
to  describe  a  victory,  and  he  said :  "Why,  madam,  a  victory  is  the 
next  thing  to  a  defeat."  General  Grant  knew  what  war  was,  and 
said :  "Let  us  have  peace,"  having  lost  13,000  men  in  less  than 
one  hour,  3rd  June,  1864,  at  Cold  Harbor.  A  war  like  the  War 
of  Secession  reminds  us  of  a  family  quarrel — it's  hell  and  a  heap 
of  it.  As  John  McClinton  said  to  Captain  Bradley,  in  the  winter 
of  1861,  while  trying  to  walk  the  foot-log:  "Fighting  war  is 
mighty  hard  work  and  moreover  is  very  dangerous,  for  I  come 
very  near  being  killed  when  I  fell  in  the  creek  just  then." 

In  the  latter  part  of  1860  the  people  lingered  in  the  fancy  that 
there  would  be  no  war.  Yet  the  whole  country  was  agitated 
with  passion,  the  frown  was  already  visible  and  it  needed  but 
some  Cadmus  to  throw  the  stone  that  would  be  the  signal  of 
combat  between  the  armed  men  sprung  from  the  dragon's  teeth. 
May  the  good  God  save  this  great  and  glorious  country  from 
another  Civil  War.  Before  the  war  General  Bob  Toombs,  of 
Georgia,  and  Daniel  Webster  were  great  friends.  In  1862  at 
Gainesville,  Va.,  the  heat  of  an  August  sun  beat  fiercely  down 
upon  the  long  lines  of  glittering  steel,  melting  away  the  fiercer 
heat  of  war.  General  Toombs's  brigade  was  driving  the  enemy 
from  the  field.  A  wounded  Yankee  colonel  shouted,  "Bob,  don't 
you  know  me?"  "Good  God!"  exclaimed  the  general,  "it  is 
Fletcher  Webster" — Daniel  Webster's  son.  In  an  instant  Toombs 
was  leaning  by  the  colonel's  side.  "And  so  we  meet  as  enemies?" 
said  Webster.  "Never,"  replied  Toombs,  "Daniel's  son  must 
always  be  my  friend."  "My  wound  is  mortal,"  said  Webster, 
sadly,  "God  bless  you,  old  friend,  for  your  kindness.  War  is  a 
bad  thing."  Weaker  grew  the  dying  man's  pulse.  He  whispered 
a  message  for  his  loved  ones,  and  said,  "Tell  Bob  I  love  him; 
God  bless  him." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  139 

While  Hampton's  old  brigade  was  still  on  the  Rappahannock, 
other  scouts  from  Butler's  old  regiment  were  sent  to  Stafford 
County  to  watch  and  report  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  under 
Sergeant  Woody  Barnwell,  Willie  Haskell,  John  Bradley,  Gus 
Black,  Lamar  Stark,  -  -  Logan,  Sim  Miller,  Layton  Lide  and 
Thornwell. 

The  Yankees  made  it  so  hot  for  these  gallant  boys  that  they 
had  to  go  up  into  Prince  William  County  and  join  Mikler's  squad, 
where  they  did  some  fine  work. 

In  December,  1862,  the  Yankees  sent  out  a  large  scouting  party 
of  fifty  men  under  Captain  McDonald  to  kill  or  capture  the  "Iron 
Scouts,"  or  drive  them  out  of  Prince  William  County. 

Bill  Mikler  had  exactly  seventeen  men  at  the  time,  and  bush 
whacked  them  with  thirteen  of  that  number,  leaving  four 
mounted  to  ride  down  what  he  failed  to  kill  and  cripple.  This 
was  done  as  the  Yankees  were  returning  to  their  camp,  having 
failed  to  locate  the  "Iron  Scouts"  until  it  suited  them  to  be 
located. 

The  gallant  Calhoun  Sparks  was  shot  through  the  body  and 
went  out  into  the  woods  to  lie  down,  when  a  Yankee  tried  to  kill 
him.  He  at  once  drewr  his  pistol  while  on  the  ground,  and  cap 
tured  the  man  in  blue.  Hearing  the  firing,  Miss  Sallie  Brawner 
ran  out  and  soon  had  Sparks's  head  in  her  lap  and  did  all  in  her 
po\ver  to  alleviate  his  suffering,  while  the  Yankee  stood  patiently 
awaiting  the  pleasure  of  the  "Iron  Scouts"  to  send  him  to  Libby 
prison.  That  much-beloved  surgeon,  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor,  hearing 
of  Sparks's  terrible  wound,  took  an  ambulance  into  the  enemy's 
lines  and  brought  him  safely  out  into  Culpepper  County,  where 
he  soon  recovered.  Doctor  Taylor  gave  no  thought  to  danger; 
where  the  wounded  were  there  he  was. 

How  unlike  a  certain  doctor  was  at  Gettysburg!  He  left  the 
wounded  to  go  in  a  charge  and  was  captured.  He  rode  in  haste 
and  had  ample  time  to  find  himself  well  seated  on  the  stool  of 
repentance  in  the  long  winter  nights  in  the  cheerless  prison  cell, 
with  little  to  eat  arid  less  to  cover  with. 

In  January,  1863,  Barney  Hennegan  was  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
James  Howerson,  in  Prince  William  County.  Not  knowing  he 
was  there  on  a  visit  to  Miss  Emma,  two  w ell- dressed  Yankee 
officers  rode  up  and  hitched  their  horses,  expecting  to  get  some- 


140  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

thing  good  to  eat.  Mr.  Hennegan,  as  Miss  Emma  called  him,  met 
them  at  the  door  with  a  six-shooter  in  each  hand  and  captured 
both,  after  shooting  the  one  who  ran,  thus  adding  two  more 
horses  to  the  supply  train  of  the  "Iron  Scouts,"  and  swelling  the 
population  at  Libby  prison  by  two. 

At  the  home  of  Mr.  John  Cooper,  in  this  same  county,  Prioleau 
Henderson  was  surrounded  and  he  knew  full  well  if  caught 
there  would  be  one  less  of  the  "Iron  Scouts"  at  roll  call  the  next 
day.  Miss  Sophy  advised  him  to  be  quick  and  get  between  the 
feather  bed  and  mattress  in  her  room,  and  he  was  not  slow  in 
taking  the  good  lady's  advice.  When  the  enemy  had  searched 
every  hole  and  corner  down  stairs,  and  when  they  reached  her 
room  she  coolly  said:  "You  may  look  where  you  please,  but  you 
will  find  no  'Iron  Scout'  here."  The  captain,  after  talking  awhile, 
sat  on  the  side  of  the  bed,  but  never  thought  to  raise  the  bedding. 
Prioleau  was  almost  suffocated,  but  held  the  fort  (the  bed)  until 
they  had  gone. 

There  was  a  reward  offered  for  Bill  Mikler,  and  one  day, 
shortly  after  Henderson's  narrow  escape,  at  the  very  same  house 
Mikler  was  almost  smothered  by  the  same  process,  when  he  got 
between  the  bedding  and  one  of  the  young  ladies  became  suddenly 
ill  and  had  a  hard  fit,  and  by  the  time  the  Yanks  reached  the 
room  the  sisters  of  the  sick  lady  were  praying  and  rubbing  her, 
at  the  same  time  imploring  the  captain  of  the  Yanks  to  please  let 
their  poor  sick  sister  die  .in  peace,  which  they  reluctantly  did 
and  left  the  place  disgusted  wTith  themselves  for  having  allowred 
the  notorious  scout  to  get  away.  There  is  deception  in  war  as 
well  as  in  peace. 

In  the  spring  of  1864  the  gallant  Colonel  Thomas  J.  Lipscomb 
was  ordered  to  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  with  the  Second  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  where  Bill  Mikler  put  in  some  mighty  good 
work.  After  Sherman's  march,  in  1865,  there  was  a  negro  captain 
of  a  company,  named  Judson  Polite,  who  was  a  menace  and  a 
terror  to  the  good  people  of  that  section,  and  had  sworn  to  kill 
Bill  Mikler  on  sight.  One  day  Mikler  was  riding  along  when 
Captain  Judson  Polite  stepped  from  behind  a  tree,  gun  in  hand, 
and  much  to  Bill's  surprise  said:  "Damn  you,  I  have  got  you 
now."  Bill  Mikler  said:  "Yes,  I  am  your  prisoner."  Judson 
kept  his  gun  right  on  him,  and  told  him  how  he  intended  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


141 


torture  him.  Bill  said:  "You  know,  captain,  when  you  catch  a 
prisoner,  you  have  to  make  him  put  his  gun  down."  The  negro 
said:  "Dat's  so!"  Instantly  Bill  fired  and  Captain  Judson 
Polite's  brains  were  spattered  all  over  the  tree.  The  people  in 
that  section  were  never  molested  after  that. 

When  the  war  was  over  Bill,  like  Othello  with  his  occupation 
gone,  lived  quietly,  beloved  and  respected  by  all  the  community. 
He  had  fine  sport  killing  wild  game.  He  was  a  perfect  Nimrod. 
Several  years  ago  he  crossed  the  river.  Peace  to  his  ashes ! 


WALLACE   MILLER    (OF   THE   SIXTIES) 


WALLACE    MILLER     (iN  1900) 


On  the  night  of  the  26th  of  May,  1864,  Jim  Guffin,  Bernard 
King,  Walker  Russell  and  Wallace  Miller  were  watching  Grant's 
Army  while  he  was  struggling  with  Lee  on  the  North  Anna  River. 
Guffin  was  sent  off  with  information,  and  the  other  three,  having 
had  no  sleep  in  forty-eight  hours,  retired  to  Mr.  Redd's  house 
and  threw  themselves  down  on  the  floor  in  a  shed  room,  and  were 
soon  asleep.  Grant  that  very  night  withdrew  the  last  two  army 
corps  across  the  river  to  keep  Lee  from  using  them  up  the 
next  day,  and  advanced  his  pickets  in  double  force,  and  by 
this  arrangement  about  fifty  men  in  blue  were  stationed 
that  night  at  Mr.  Redd's  house,  where  our  scouts  were  calmly 


142  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

sleeping.  Fortunately  they  had  locked  the  door.  Walker  Russell 
heard  them  and  whispered  to  Miller,  "The  Yankees  are  here.'" 
Miller  said,  "Go  to  sleep;  impossible  to  get  a^vay  now."  Just 
before  day  Mrs.  Redd  had  them  (the  Yankee  pickets)  out  in  the 
yard  eating,  while  Mr.  Redd  warned  the  scouts  to  leave,  which 
they  did,  after  killing  one  of  the  pickets  who  insisted  on  having 
from  them  what  they  did  not  have — the  countersign.  Our  scouts 
were  soon  in  the  tall  timber,  where  the  men  in  blue  would  not 
venture  except  in  large  numbers. 

Dignified  Bernard  King  captured  a  splendid,  dark-brown, 
blaze-faced,  white- footed,  glass-eyed  horse  with  no  more  hair 
on  his  tail  than  the  writer  of  this  sketch  has  on  his  head — though 
he  was  very  tough  and  active.  The  scouts  called  him  the  "Fall 
colt."  Wallace  Miller  one  day  saw  King  riding  the  "Fall  colt," 
and  as  quick  as  thought  slipped  on  a  Yankee  overcoat  and 
charged  him.  The  "Fall  colt,"  being  full  of  life,  almost  threw 
King,  who  had  drawn  his  pistol  and  was  ready  to  shoot,  when 
Miller  made  himself  known  to  him  by  asking,  "How's  the  Fall 
colt?"  King  said:  "Look  here,  Miller,  if  you  ever  do  that  again 
I  will  surely  kill  you.  Just  suppose  this  fine  animal  had  thrown 
me  and  gone  back  to  the  enemy,  leaving  me  afoot  in  their  lines. 
Now,  be  cautious,  Wallace." 

King  captured  the  horse  on  the  night  of  the  12th  of  June,  1864, 
after  Hampton  and  Butler  had  routed  Sheridan  and  his  cavalry 
at  Trevillian,  Va.  When  Sheridan  got  back  behind  Grant's  lines 
he  said :  "I  have  met  Butler  and  his  cavalry,  and  I  hope  to  God 
I  will  never  meet  them  again,"  and  he  never  did. 

What  a  picnic  our  scouts  had  when  the  Yankee  cavalry  were 
routed,  gathering  horses  and  information.  It  is  as  hard  for  me  to 
write  about  the  scouts  and  not  mention  their  horses  as  it  is  to 
drive  a  nail  with  a  hammer  with  no  handle  to  it.  Bernard  King 
rode  the  "Fall  colt"  until  the  end  of  the  war.  He  could  not  return 
to  his  home  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  because  there  was  a  hot  time 
in  the  old  town  when  Lee's  army  was  leaving  Appomattox  for 
their  desecrated  homes.  My  old  friend  and  schoolmate,  Hannie 
Mimms,  brought  King  and  the  "Fall  colt"  home  with  him  to 
Edgefield,  S.  C.,  where  this  chivalrous  gentleman  and  gallant 
scout  spent  some  time  at  the  hospitable  home  of  Dr.  Mimms. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  143 

He  selected  Charleston  as  his  adopted  home,  where  he  did 
excellent  work  in  1876  making  speeches,  etc.  About  the  year 
1878  this  brave  and  good  man  joined  the  great  majority.  May  his 
soul  rest  in  peace  is  the  prayer  of  one  who  knew  him  well. 

Sleep  on,  my  friend,  tried  and  true, 

"The  banner  you  loved  is  furled, 
And  the  gray  is  faded,  too ; 

But  in  all  the  colors  that  deck  the  world 
Your  gray  blends  not  with  blue." 


144  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


CAPTURE  OF  GENERAL  NEAL  DOW 

On  Monday  morning  at  four  o'clock,  24th  May,  1863,  the  Battle 
of  Port  Hudson,  La.,  was  fought.  General  Neal  Dow  says :  "In 
places  our  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field  were  so  close  that  their 
bodies  touched."  He  was  himself  wounded  in  the  left  arm  and 
in  the  leg,  and  was  stopping  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Gage  to 
recuperate.  He  goes  on  to  say :  "Time  wore  away  until  my  cap 
ture  by  a  squad  of  Confederate  Cavalry  on  the  evening  of  the  30th 
of  June,  1863."  How  it  came  about  may,  perhaps,  be  best  told  as 
related  by  one  of  the  party  by  whom  the  capture  was  effected. 
Extract  from  statement  of  John  G.  B.  Simms :  "I,  with  a  squad 
of  three  men,  was  scouting  in  the  rear  of  Port  Hudson.  A  lady, 
Mrs.  Brown,  came  out  of  the  Federal  lines  and  informed  me  that 
General  Dow  had  been  wounded  some  six  weeks  and  was  then  at 
the  residence  of  a  Mrs.  Gage.  The  squad  organized,  consisting  of 
John  McKeowen,  a  lieutenant  at  home  on  furlough  from  the 
Virginia  army;  John  R.  Petty,  Wilson  Medeasis,  myself,  Young 
Haynes  and  a  fellow  we  called  'Tex,'  he  having  the  letters  on 
the  front  of  his  white  hat.  McKeowen  was  agreed  upon  as  com 
mander  for  the  occasion.  Following  directions,  we  captured  two 
orderlies  of  General  Dow,  who  were  lying  on  the  gallery.  We 
were  told  that  General  Dow  was  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor. 
Leaving  this  house  we  mounted  our  horses,  and  looking  to  the 
left  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  sat  a  man,  clad  in  white,  on  horseback. 
John  Petty  and  I  drew  our  revolvers,  galloped  up  to  him,  and 
asked  him  if  that  was  Gen'eral  Dow,  and  he  replied,  'Yes,  sir.' 
'Surrender  or  I'll  kill  you,'  came  quickly  from  us  both.  He 
hesitated  a  moment  in  seeming  surprise,  then  answered,  'I'll  sur 
render,  sir;  I'll  go  with  you.'  We  galloped  off  with  the  three 
prisoners  and  traveled  all  night — in  a  gallop  for  several  hours." 
After  the  war  the  scout  (Simms)  returned  one  of  General  Dow's 
pistols  to  him  in  Portland,  Maine. 

On  the  12th  of  October,  1863,  General  Dow  arrived  at  Libby 
Prison,  in  Richmond.  Shortly  after  this  General  John  H.  Mor 
gan  called  on  General  Dow.  The  next  day  the  Richmond 
Enquirer  had  the  following  account  of  the  interview : 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-18G5.  145 

"General  Morgan,  on  arriving  upstairs  where  the  prisoners 
'most  do  congregate,'  was  immediately  conducted  into  the  presence 
of  the  author  of  the  Maine  Liquor  Law,  the  whilom  Brigadier- 
General  Dow.  An  introduction  took  place,  when  General  Morgan 
observed,  with  one  of  those  inimitable  smiles  for  which  he  is  so 
noted,  'General  Dow,  I  am  very  happy  to  see  you  here,  or,  rather, 
I  should  say  since  you  are  here  I  am  happy  to  see  you  looking  so 
well.'  Dow's  natural  astuteness  and  Yankee  ingenuity  came  to 
his  aid,  and  he  quickly  replied,  without  apparent  embarrassment: 
'General  Morgan,  I  congratulate  you  on  your  escape;  I  cannot 
say  that  I  am  glad  that  you  did  escape,  but  since  you  did  I  am 
pleased  to  see  you  here.'  The  conversation  then  became  general 
between  the  two,  during  the  progress  of  which  Dow  admitted 
that  his  views  of  the  South,  its  people  and  their  treatment  of 
prisoners  of  war  had  undergone  a  material  change  for  the  better 
in  the  last  few  months." 

At  Greenville,  Tennessee,  on  the  4th  day  of  September,  1864, 
General  John  H.  Morgan  was  foully  murdered  by  one  Andrew 
Campbell,  of  the  Thirteenth  United  States  (Tennesseee)  Cavalry, 
having  been  betrayed  by  a  woman.  While  talking  to  the  colonel 
of  the  said  regiment  he  was  shot  as  he  exclaimed,  "My  God,  don't 
kill  me,  I  am  a  prisoner."  The  murderer  then  tied  a  rope  around 
the  dead  body  of  this  gallant  soldier  and  dragged  it  through  the 
streets  of  the  town,  crying  as  he  rode,  "Here  is  your  d — d  horse 
thief." 

From  a  letter  bearing  date  12th  November,  1863,  written  by 
General  Dow  at  Libby  Prison,  I  make  the  following  extract : 

"I  send  you  a  price  current  today  by  which  you  will  see  the 
enormous  prices,  due  partly  to  scarcity  and  partly  to  extreme 
depreciation  of  rebel  money.  The  'Confeds'  cannot  feed  the 
prisoners  except  just  so  far  as  to  keep  them  alive.  The  ration 
for  officers  is  a  piece  of  corn-cake  (unsifted  meal)  six  by  four  and 
one-half  inches,  and  one  inch  thick,  and  one  small  sweet  potato 
and  water.  That  is  everything  for  a  day.  But  the  officers  spend 
daily  over  one  thousand  dollars  Confederate  money.  Potatoes 
cost  fifty  dollars  a  bushel,  sugar  five  dollars  a  pound,  candles 
(tallow)  one  dollar  each.  We  have  no  meat  of  any  kind.  We  did 
have  a  little  two  or  three  days  ago,  now  it  cannot  be  had.  When 
I  first  came  here  we  received  for  greenbacks  two  for  one,  now 

10— B.    C. 


146  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  authorities  give  seven  for  one.  In  the  streets  I  suppose  the 
rate  is  ten  for  one.  At  Mobile  a  soldier  told  me  he  went  to  buy 
a  cotton  shirt.  The  price  was  twenty-two  dollass  in  Confederate 
money,  a  pair  of  six-dollar  boots  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars ;  shoes,  thirty  to  forty  dollars."  General  Dow  says  that  a 
Roman  Catholic  Bishop,  the  Right  Reverend  John  McGill,  often 
visited  Libby  Prison.  "I  have  rarely,  if  ever,  seen  a  man  whose 
appearance  impressed  me  more,  if  so  much.  There  is  prominent 
in  his  presence  a  charming  air  of  dignity,  gentleness,  intelligence 
and  high  culture,  intellectural  and  moral,  and  every  movement 
is  full  of  grace  and  unaffected  ease."  General  Dow  was  not  a 
Catholic,  but  of  the  Quaker  persuasion.  General  Dow  further 
writes :  "Not  long  prior  to  my  arrival  at  Libby,  all  the  captains 
of  the  prison  had  been  mustered  to  draw  lots  to  decide  which  two 
among  them  should  be  executed  in  retaliation  for  the  hanging,  by 
our  authorities,  of  two  Confederate  captains  caught  within  our 
lines  under  circumstances  subjecting  them,  under  military  law,  to 
the  penalty  they  suffered.  It  resulted  in  the  selection  of  two  cap 
tains  in  Libby,  Captains  Sawyer  and  Flynn.  Promptly  our 
authorities  selected  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  and  a  Captain  Winder 
from  the  Confederate  officers  in  their  hands  as  hostages  for  the 
doomed  Union  captains,  rightly  surmising  that  the  influential 
connection  of  those  officers  in  the  Confederacy  would  prevent  the 
threatened  execution  of  the  Union  captains  who  had  drawn  their 
death  warrants  in  the  dreadful  lottery  in  which  they  had  been 
compelled  to  take  tickets."  "Under  date  of  28th  January,  1864, 
I  wrote  my  son  as  follows :  'I  have  reason  to  believe  that  if  the 
government  will  propose  to  exchange  General  Lee  for  myself, 
the  only  Federal  general  here,  and  equivalent  officers  for  Captains 
Sawyer  and  Flynn,  who  were  selected  by  lot  for  execution  in 
retaliation  for  the  execution  by  Burnside  of  two  officers  alleged 
to  be  recruiting  within  our  lines  in  Kentucky  for  the  Confederate 
service,  the  proposition  will  be  favorably  entertained  and  the 
exchange  effected.  General  Lee  was  captured  at  a  private  house, 
sick,  as  I  was  at  a  private  house  wounded.' ': 

General  W.  H.  F.  Lee  was  captured,  and  not  General  Fitzhugh 
as  General  Dow  says,  and  was  exchanged  for  the  latter  on  the 
14th  March,  1864,  after  General  Dow  had  been  eight  months  and 
fourteen  days  in  captivity.  Captains  Sawyer  and  Flynn  were 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  147 

exchanged  the  same  day.  General  Lee  was  the  most  influentially 
connected  of  any  Confederate  officer  then  in  the  hands  of  the 
North,  while  General  Dow  was  the  only  Northern  officer  of  equal 
rank  held  by  the  South.  General  Dow  writes  about  how  hard  it 
was  for  the  "Confeds"  to  feed  prisoners.  I  really  believe  they  had 
about  as  much  to  eat  as  our  men  got.  I  remember  well  that 
Butler's  Division  had  literally  nothing  to  eat  from  Friday  after 
noon,  the  10th  June,  to  Monday  afternoon,  13th  June,  1864 — the 
excitement  of  fighting  on  the  llth  and  12th  kept  us  up.  The 
Yankee  prisoners  were  fed  regularly  and  had  nothing  to  do,  while 
we  were  constantly  on  the  go,  sometimes  with  a  little  piece  of 
meat  and  bread  and  plenty  of  the  lead. 

When  the  son  of  General  R.  E.  Lee  was  captured — General 
W.  H.  F.  Lee— Captain  Stringfellow,  the  chief  of  General  R.  E. 
Lee's  scouts,  committed  one  of  the  most  daring  deeds  of  the  war. 
He  took  eight  or  ten  volunteer  scouts  and  evaded  the  Yankee 
pickets  and  rode  right  up  to  the  headquarters  of  General  Craw 
ford,  who  was  absent.  They  then  turned  their  horses  and  began 
to  shoot  into  the  tents  of  the  sleeping  Yankee  division,  as  they 
dashed  through.  Not  one  of  his  scouts  got  a  scratch  and  made 
good  their  escape.  One  of  these  volunteers  was  a  cross-eyed  man 
named  Bolic  and  belonged  to  Captain  Angus  Brown's  company 
of  the  First  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  Poor  Bolic  was  bush 
whacked  by  the  Yankees  and  killed  a  short  time  after  this  daring 
deed,  riding  by  the  side  of  Isaac  Curtis,  one  of  the  most  noted  of 
General  Lee's  scouts.  Captain  Stringfellow  made  this  desperate 
effort  in  order  to  capture  a  Yankee  general  that  he  might  be 
exchanged  for  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee,  little  thinking  that  his 
brother  scouts  in  Louisiana  had  gone  into  the  Yankee  lines  and 
captured  General  Dow,  for  whom  General  Lee  was  exchanged  as 
above  stated.  It  is  hard  to  place  the  proper  estimate  upon  the 
great  work  that  the  scouts  accomplished  for  the  Confederate  gov 
ernment.  They  kept  General  Lee  better  posted  as  to  the  move 
ments  of  the  Yankee  army  than  a  great  many  of  the  Union 
generals  knew  themselves.  These  wonderful  men  would  go  into 
Washington  and  anywhere  in  the  enemy's  lines  whenever  it  suited 
their  purpose  to  do  so.  Captain  Stringfellow  is  now  an  Episcopal 
clergyman.  He,  like  the  other  scouts,  did  his  duty  as  he  saw  it. 
The  remarkable  courage  displayed  by  the  brave  men  in  both 


148  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

armies,  of  the  North  and  the  South,  was  certainly  a  high  tribute 
to  American  valor. 

When  we  think  of  such  men  as  Stringfellow,  Burke,  Shad- 
bourne,  Hogan,  Miller,  Shoolbred,  Scott,  King,  Dulin,  Bob 
Shiver  and  others  keeping  our  generals  so  well  posted  as  to  the 
movements  of  the  enemy,  no  wonder  we  were  able  to  fight  the 
world  as  we  did. 

There  was  a  brave  boy  in  Company  D,  Fifth  South  Carolina 
Cavalry,  Butler's  old  brigade,  whose  name  was  Oscar  John  Daly 
Reid.  He  was  "only  a  private."  This  brave  boy  was  at  different 
times  complimented  on  the  battlefield  by  Generals  Butler,  Hamp 
ton  and  Wheeler.  General  Butler  said  that  Oscar  Reid  was  not 
only  one  of  the  bravest  men  he  ever  knew,  but  was  one  of  the 
handsomest.  General  Hampton,  who  had  witnessed  some  of  this 
brave  boy's  gallant  deeds,  said  to  him  one  day :  "Reid,  you  ought 
to  be  a  commissioned  officer."  General  Wheeler  said,  "Oscar  Reid 
is  too  brave;  rashly  brave."  What  a  tribute  to  one  so  young  and 
so  handsome,  only  twenty  years  old  when  killed  leading  a  charge 
in  the  last  battle  that  Butler  and  his  cavalry  were  in  at  Benton- 
ville,  N.  C.,  on  the  19th  March,  1865. 

May  his  soul  rest  in  peace. 

"Out  of  the  shadows  of  sadness, 
Into  the  sunshine  of  gladness, 

Into  the  light  of  the  blest ; 
Out  of  a  land  very  dreary, 
Out  of  the  world  very  weary, 

Into  the  rapture  of  rest." 


BTJTLER  AND  His  CAVALRT,  1861-1865.  149 


BATTLE  OF  BRANDY  STATION,  JUNE  9,  1863 


Graphic    Description    by    General    M.    C.    Butler — Deaths    of 

Lieutenant-Colonel    Frank   Hampton    and    Captain 

W.  D.  Farley — Serious  Wounding  of  General 

Butler — Loss  of  His  Leg 

t 

Editor  Laurensville  Herald : 

I  feel  that  it  would  be  good  for  me  to  hold  up  for  a  while  in 
my  trespassing-  upon  your  indulgence  and  the  forbearance  of 
your  good  readers  and  let  another  and  a  more  prominent  actor 
in  the  scenes,  upon  which  I  have  been  lightly  touching,  speak. 

In  my  contribution  of  August  the  9th,  in  speaking  of  the 
death  of  Captain  W.  D.  Farley,  I  quoted  from  Capers's  South 
Carolina  Confederate  Military  History  in  describing  his  fall  and 
the  wounding  of  General  Butler.  As  I  always  do  I  put  this  extract 
in  quotation  marks,  which  ran  thus:  "The  artillery  fire  was 
sweeping  the  hill,  and  the  Federal  squadrons  were  forming  to 
charge  when  the  men  offered  to  bear  Farley  off.  Smiling  with 
grateful  thanks,  he  told  them  to  stand  to  their  rifles,  and  to 
carry  Butler  out  of  the  fire.  Then  with  expression  of  resigna 
tion  to  his  fate  and  devotion  to  his  country,  he  expired  on  the 
field."  When  this  was  published,  an  old  comrade  who  takes  a 
deep  interest  in  everything  touching  the  story  of  the  Confed 
eracy,  told  me  that  Farley  was,  after  his  wounding,  carried  to  a 
house  at  or  near  Culpepper  Court  House,  where  he  died  and 
was  buried.  We  had  always  understood  that  he  died  at,  or 
near,  the  spot  where  he  and  General  Butler  both  fell  by  the 
same  cannon  shot.  Always  seeking  accuracy  in  things  pertain 
ing  to  our  war  history,  I  wrote  General  Butler  for  the  facts. 
He  has  kindly  answered  me  in  a  letter  that  is  a  valuable  contri 
bution  to  history  and  that  I  know  will  be  read  with  deepest 
interest  by  every  lover  of  our  history,  and  especially  by  a  great 
many  still  surviving  in  Laurens  who  followed  the  plume  of 
Butler. 


150  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

I  have  a  second  letter  from  General  Butler  in  answer  to  my 
request,  in  which  he  uses  the  following  language  in  regard  to 
Captain  Fare's  death:  "Farley  must  have  been  carried  to  a 
farm  house  in  the  same  neighborhood.  You  may  well  imagine 
I  was  in  no  plight  to  know7  much  about  what  was  going  on 
elsewhere.  ^Vs  there  were  about  8,000  of  our  cavalry  and  a 
larger  number  of  our  friends,  the  enemy,  under  General  Pleas- 
anton,  supported  by  a  large  contingent  of  infantry,  you  will 
readily  understand  that  the  battlefield  was  an  extensive  one. 
Farley  died  within  the  radius  of  action  of  the  contending 
forces." 

So  it  will  be  seen  that  in  all  its  main  features,  my  account  of 
Farley's  fall  was  correct.  That  while  he  did  not  die  at  the  spot 
where  he  fell,  that  he  did  die  on  the  battlefield,  practically. 

O.  G.  T. 


Edgefield,  S.  C.,  August  17th,  1907. 
Mr.  O.  G.  Thompson,  Laurens,  S.  C. 

My  Dear  Sir:  Yours  of  the  13th  inst.  was  received  yester 
day.  You  will  find  on  pages  291  and  292  McClellan's  "History 
of  Stuart's  Campaigns,"  a  very  accurate  account  of  Farley's 
wound  and  death. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  June  9th,  1863,  the  enemy  crossed 
the  Rappahannock  on  a  reconnoisance  in  force — Pleasanton's 
Cavalry,  supported  by  infantry,  to  ascertain  if  possible  Gen 
eral  Lee's  intentions.  Longstreet's  Corps  was  at  and  near  Cul- 
pepper  Court  House.  Swell's  Corps  was  at  that  time  crossing 
the  mountains  into  the  valley,  the  advance  of  that  splendid 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  in  its  movement  into  Pennsyl 
vania.  A.  P.  Hill's  Division  was  below  toAvards  Fredericks- 
burg.  The  cavalry,  commanded  by  Major-General  Stuart,  was 
guarding  the  crossings  of  the  Rappahannock. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1863,  the  day  before  the  Battle  of 
Brandy  Station,  General  Lee  reviewed  the  cavalry  on  the  plain 
between  Culpepper  and  Brandy  Station.  There  were  deployed 
in  line  five  brigades:'  Hampton's  (of  which  my  regiment,  the 
Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  was  a  part),  Fitz  Lee's, 
Wm.  H.  F.  Lee's,  Robertson's,  and  Jones's.  It  is  estimated  that 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1801-1805.  151 

up  to  that  time  it  was  the  largest  body  of  horsemen  ever 
assembled  at  one  place  on  the  continent.  There  were  also  four 
or  five  batteries  of  horse  artillery  parked  in  rear  of  the  line  of 
cavalry.  It  was  a  grand  picture.  We  broke  into  column  of 
companies  from  the  right,  Hampton's  Brigade  occupying  the 
right  of  the  line,  and  passed  in  review  at  a  walk  in  front  of 
General  Lee,  who  evidently  witnessed  with  pride  and  satisfac 
tion  this  incomparable  body  of  mounted  men  of  his  army.  We 
passed  a  second  time  at  a  trot,  and  after  clearing  the  reviewing 
officer  charged  by  squadrons,  rallied  and  reformed  the  line. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  cavalry  review  all  the  batteries 
opened  with  blank  cartridges,  and  such  a  salvo  was  perhaps 
never  before  heard  on  that  plain.  None  of  us  understood  the 
meaning  of  it,  until  afterwards.  General  Lee's  purpose  was 
to  attract  attention  from  EwelPs  movement,  and  the  next  day 
General  Hooker  sent  over  this  strong  reconnoisance  to  find  out 
what  General  Lee  was  after.  He  didn't  find  out  the  next  day, 
the  9th,  for  Ewell  was  still  moving  towards  the  Potomac,  and 
we  drove  back  the  reconnoitering  party.  Longstreet,  A.  P. 
Hill  and  the  cavalry  then  moved  en  route  to  Gettysburg. 

Captain  Willie  Farley  was  a  volunteer  and  on  Stuart's  staff.  On 
the  morning  of  the  9th  my  regiment  was  camping  about  half 
way  between  Brandy  Station  and  Stevensburg.  The  horses  had 
been  sent  out  to  graze  at  daylight  in  near-by  clover  field.  Very 
soon  afterwards  we  heard  heavy  firing  at  Rappahannock  Bridge 
and  other  crossings  of  the  river.  To  return  to  camp  and  saddle 
up  and  pack  the  wagons  was  the  work  of  a  very  short  time ;  for 
we  knew  that  we  had  to  get  busy  during  the  day.  Just  about 
sunrise  I  received  an  order  from  General  Hampton  to  move  up 
to  Brandy  Station,  leaving  my  wagons  parked  in  camp  and 
wait  orders.  You  may  imagine  how  large  an  area  it  required 
to  camp  that  body  of  cavalry.  Stuart's  headquarters  were  at 
Fleetwood  Hill,  about  a  mile  north  of  Brandy  Station.  Hamp 
ton's  were  at  a  house,  perhaps  a  mile  in  rear  of  my  camp-.  M^ 
regiment  was  the  extreme  right  of  the  encampments,  except 
Black's,  the  First  South  Carolina,  was  somewhat  to  my  right 
and  rear.  The  other  brigades  were  stretched  off  to  the  left  of 
and  in  front  of  Stuart's  headquarters,  all  picketing  the  Rappa 
hannock.  I  moved  up  to  Brandy  Station  as  directed,  leaving 


152  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

my  wagon-train  in  camp,  with  an  officer  and  guard  in  charge  of 
it.  We  had  scarcely  dismounted,  ''standing  to  horse/'  at  the 
station,  not  long  after  sunrise,  when  a  courier  f^om  the  officer  of 
the  guard,  Wist  Gary,  of  Company  G,  as  I  now  remember,  came 
at  full  speed  announcing  that  the  enemy  was  at  Stevensburg,  on 
the  Richard's  Ferry  Road,  leading  to  Culpepper,  five  miles, 
perhaps,  to  right  of  where  we  were  dismounted.  Realizing  that 
there  was  nothing  between  my  train  and  the  point  where  the 
enemy  was  reported  to  be,  except  a  few  videttes,  and  not  having 
time  to  communicate  with  either  Hampton  or  Stuart,  there  was 
nothing  left  for  me  to  do  but  to  move  without  orders  as  rapidly  as 
our  horses  could  carry  us  and  throw  the  regiment  between  the 
enemy  and  the  wagon  train,  and,  if  possible,  check  the  advance 
of  the  enemy  on  Culpepper  Court  House,  meantime  ordering  the 
train  moved  rapidly  towards  Culpepper.  This  separated  my 
regiment  four  or  five  miles  from  the  other  bodies  of  cavalry 
engaged  with  the  enemy  in  front  of  Brandy  Station.  When  we 
reached  Stevensburg  the  enemy  had  retired  down  the  road 
towards  Richard's  Ferry.  I  had  despatched  Lieutenant- Colonel 
Frank  Hampton  with  a  small  advance  guard,  about  twenty-five 
men,  to  move  rapidly  ahead  of  the  column  and  reconnoiter  in 
our  front.  He  performed  that  duty  with  his  usual  promptness 
and  gallantry.  He  soon  reported  the  enemy  approaching  in 
force.  I  then  directed  him  to  halt  his  mounted  troops  in  the 
road  while  Major  Thomas  Lipscomb  and  1  deployed  the 
remainder  of  the  regiment  in  skirmish  order  along  a  wooded 
ridge  between  Hampton's  position  in  the  road  on  our  extreme 
right  and  Handsborough's  house,  on  our  extreme  left.  While  I 
was  in  the  woods  about  the  centre  of  the  regiment,  which  was 
deployed  on  foot,  with  Hampton  on  the  right  wing  and  Lip 
scomb  on  the  left,  Farley  came  to  me  from  Stuart,  informing 
me  the  Fourth  Virginia  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Colonel  Wick- 
ham,  and  one  piece  of  artillery  had  been  ordered  to  reenforce  me. 
Colonel  Wickham  halted  in  the  main  road  some  distance  in  rear 
of  where  Colonel  Hampton  was  stationed,  and  sent  word  to  me 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wm.  H.  Payne  of  his  regiment,  he  had 
arrived  to  support  me.  I  requested  Colonel  Payne  to  inform 
Colonel  Wickham  of  the  disposition  I  had  made  of  the  few  men 
at  my  disposal  and  to  say  to  him,  as  he  reached  me,  I  would 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  153 

cheerfully  take  orders  from  him.  Colonel  Payne  returned  to 
me  on  the  ridge,  saying  Colonel  Wickham  preferred  that  I 
should  continue  in  command.  I  thereupon  requested  Colonel 
Payne  to  ask  Colonel  Wickham  to  move  up  two  squadrons  of 
his  regiment  prepared  for  mounted  action  to  support  Colonel 
Hampton,  and  dismount  two  squadrons  and  deploy  them  on 
Hampton's  right,  as  that  was  the  weakest  point  on  our  line;  that 
I  had  the  left  well  protected  by  my  regiment  deployed  along  the 
wooded  ridge.  Farley,  in  the  meantime,  remained  with  me. 
This  was  the  situation  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
the  9th,  so  far  as  my  regiment  Avas  concerned.  The  other  regi 
ments  of  Hampton's  Brigade  and  of  the  two  Lee's,  except  Wick- 
ham's,  Robertson's  and  Jones's,  were  having  it  out  with  the 
enemy  several  miles  to  my  left.  Gregg's  Division  of  Pennsyl 
vania  Cavalry,  supported  by  Ames'  Brigade  of  Infantry,  were 
moving  up  the  Richard's  Ferry  Road  to  attack  our  position. 

As  usual,  Gregg  sent  forward  a  strong  line  of  mounted  skir 
mishers  in  the  thick  woods  and  made  a  vigorous  attack.  A 
volley  from  our  Enfields  soon  sent  them  back.  They  came  a 
second  time  and  were  repulsed. 

Imagine  my  surprise  when  I  learned  from  the  right  that  a 
regiment  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  had  charged  Colonel  Hampton's 
handful  of  men  and  swept  him  out  of  the  road.  In  the  melee, 
Colonel  Hampton  received  a  pistol  ball  in  the  pit  of  his  stomach 
and  died  that  afternoon  from  the  effects  of  it. 

Colonel  W^ickham  not  only  did  not  move  up  his  mounted  and 
dismounted  squadrons  to  Colonel  Hampton's  support,  but  when 
the  enemy  charged  they  took  to  their  heels  towards  Culpepper 
Court  House.  General  Wigfall,  who  came  to  see  me  after  I 
was  wounded,  told  me  the  Fourth  Virginia  had  reported  that 
my  regiment  broke,  ran  over  them,  and  they  were  obliged  to 
retire — and  stand  not  upon  the  order  of  their  going.  A  most 
remarkable  statement.  How  twenty-eight  or  thirty  men  could 
"run  over"  as  large  a  regiment  as  the  Fourth  Virginia  was, 
mounted,  it  is  difficult  to  understand.  The  remainder  of  my 
regiment  were  engaged  in  a  wooded  ridge,  dismounted,  driving 
back  the  enemy  in  their  front.  How  they  could  manage  to  "run 
over"  a  mounted  regiment  a  quarter  or  half  mile  in  their  rear 
"passeth  all  understanding." 


154  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

But  to  return  to  Farley.  When  the  enemy  advanced  in  splendid 
order  and  opened  a  rapid  fire  with  their  repeating  carbines, 
Farley  and  I  were  the  only  two  mounted  on  the  line.  He  drew 
his  revolver,  spurred  his  horse  through  our  line  and  opened  fire. 
I,  of  course,  ordered  him  back,  as  the  exposure  was  quite  enough 
as  we  were.  Of  course,  we  had  very  much  the  advantage  in 
position  on  the  crest  of  a  wooded  ridge  with  almost  a  plunging 
fire  at  the  enemy  below.  And  now  let  me  digress  a  moment,  to 
relate  an  incident,  which  had  something  of  the  ludicrous  as  well 
as  the  tragic:  Farley's  and  my  station  was  near  Company  "G," 
Lieutenant  Hearst  in  command  at  that  point.  I  had  cautioned 
Hearst  not  to  fire  too  soon,  as  it  was  possible  some  of  our  men 
might  have  got  below  in  the  progress  of  deploying  in  the  thick 
woods.  When,  however,  we  discovered  the  enemy  making  their 
way  through  the  bushes  and  opened  fire,  I  gave  the  command, 
"Commence  firing"  all  along  the  line.  I  noticed  a  mounted 
cavalryman  in  blue  slide  off  of  his  horse  (a  gray  horse)  very 
easily,  and  the  horse  trot  back  to  his  rear,  and  assumed  he  had 
dismounted  not  more  than  fifty  yards  down  the  hill  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  the  protection  of  a  tree  in  his  future  efforts. 
About  that  time  a  man  wearing  a  "striped  hat"  turned  to  me  and 
said,  "Colonel,  I  got  that  fellow."  I  replied  by  saying,  "Got  him, 
the  devil;  he  has  dismounted  to  get  you;  load  your  gun."  It 
turned  out  to  be  Turner,  of  Company  G,  and  he  was  right.  He 
had  killed  his  man,  who  proved  to  be  an  officer.  You  will  see  the 
relevance  of  this  later  on. 

When  I  discovered  that  my  right  had  been  turned,  and  that  my 
regiment  had  "run  over"  the  Fourth  Virginia  and  left  us  exposed 
to  a  flank  movement  from  that  direction,  I  determined  to  swing 
my  regiment  back  from  the  right,  still  dismounted,  and  cross 
Mountain  Run.  This  was  successfully  done  and  we  took  up 
another  line  on  the  west  side  of  the  creek.  Farley  remained  with 
me  during  this  movement,  and  was  quite  useful  in  aiding  in  its 
orderly  execution.  The  piece  of  artillery  which  had  been  sent  to 
me  by  General  Stuart  was  posted  at  the  most  eligible  position  and 
was  carrying  on  quite  an  active  duel  with  the  artillery  of  the 
enemy  operating  from  the  hill  near  Stevensburg.  After  our  new 
line  was  formed  and  the  enemy  making  no  very  determined  move 
ment  against  it,  we  had  a  breathing  spell.  Farley  was  near  me 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  155 

in  the  road  leading  from  Stevensburg  to  Brandy  Station,  not  far 
from  the  crossing  of  Mountain  Run.  We  were  very  near,  each 
mounted,  and  had  ceased  to  pay  much  attention  to  the  artillery 
duel,  and  were  laughing  and  chatting  over  the  incident  of  Turner, 
the  man  with  the  "striped  hat,"  having  brought  down  his  man  in 
a  very  cool,  nonchalant  manner,  as  I  have  related  above.  Our 
horses  were  facing  in  opposite  directions,  mine  nearest  the  enemy. 
A  twelve-pound  shell  from  the  enemy's  gun  on  the  hill  (we  had 
evidently  been  located  by  a  field  glass),  struck  the  ground  about 
thirty  steps  from  our  position  in  an  open  field,  ricochetted  and 
passed  through  my  right  leg  above  the  ankle,  through  Farley's 
horse,  and  took  off  his  right  leg  at  the  knee.  My  horse  bounded 
in  the  air  and  threw  me,  saddle  and  all,  flat  on  my  back  in  the 
road,  when  the  poor  fellow  moved  off  with  his  entrails  hanging 
out  towards  the  clover  field  where  he  had  been  grazing  in  the 
early  morning,  and  died  there,  as  I  was  afterwards  informed. 
Farley's  horse  dropped  in  the  road,  terribly  lacerated,  and  Farley 
fell  with  his  head  on  his  horse's  side.  As  soon  as  we  discovered 
what  the  trouble  was  my  first  apprehension  was  we  would  bleed 
to  death  before  assistance  could  reach  us.  I  therefore  directed 
Farley  to  get  out  his  handkerchief  and  make  a  tourniquet  by 
binding  around  his  leg  above  the  wound.  I  got  out  my  handker 
chief,  and  we  were  doing  our  best  in  the  tourniquet  business  when 
Captain  John  Chestnut  and  Lieutenant  John  Rhett  of  my  regi 
ment  came  to  our  relief,  soon  followed  by  Doctors  Watt  Taylor 
and  Gregory,  surgeon  and  assistant  surgeon  of  the  regiment. 

Farley's  horse  was  struggling  in  the  last  agonies  and  I  was 
afraid  would  injure  him  with  his  hoofs.  I  therefore  requested 
the  gentlemen  present  to  move  him  on  the  other  side  of  the  road, 
and  it  was  done.  With  that  splendid  chivalric  nature  in  which 
he  much  excelled  he  said,  "Gentlemen,  return  to  Colonel  Butler's 
assistance"  (we  were  not  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  apart), 
"he  requires  your  attention  more  than  I  do."  His  leg  was  taken 
off  as  smoothly  as  if  it  had  been  cut  with  a  saw  right  at  the  knee 
joint.  Mine  was  shattered  above  the  ankle  and  dangled  by  the 
skin  and  the  cavalry  boots  that  I  wore.  After  its  mission  of 
destruction  had  been  thus  completed,  the  shell  dropped  near 
Farley's  horse. 


156  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Dr.  Gregory  took  charge  of  Farley,  and  as  they  were  about  to 
remove  him  he  asked  permission  to  have  his  dismembered  limb, 
took  it  in  his  arms  and  embraced  it  with  some  atfection.  He  was 
carried  to  the  rear.  1  never  saw  him  afterwards,  but  learned  that 
he  died  about  the  time  my  leg  was  being  amputated.  I  was  placed 
in  a  blanket,  with  a  man  at  each  corner,  and  as  they  walked  with 
every  possible  care  the  grating  of  the  bones  was  anything  but 
pleasant.  After  a  time  the  ambulance,  which  had  been  employed 
in  other  parts  of  the  battlefield,  arrived,  and  I  was  placed  in  that. 
Before  the  ambulance  reached  us,  however,  I  was  placed  in  a 
horse  trough  found  in  the  camp  that  Black's  regiment,  the  First 
South  Carolina,  had  left  that  morning.  I  was  carried  to  Mrs. 
Fitzhugh's  farm  house,  and  there  the  amputation  was  performed 
about  five  o'clock.  We  were  shot  about  one  o'clock.  I  was  told 
that  Farley  was  carried  to  a  farm  house,  never  recovered  from  the 
shock  of  the  shell,  as  very  few  men  ever  do,  and  died  about  the 
time  Dr.  Taylor  was  practicing  his  skill  on  me. 

Farley  was  splendidly  mounted  that  day,  on  a  horse  he  had 
captured  from  a  Yankee  major  a  short  time  before.  .He  was 
finely  caparisoned,  all  of  his  accoutrements  being  the  best,  his 
horse  a  deep  bay.  My  poor  horse  that  had  carried  me  through 
many  close  places  and  borne  me  on  long  and  tedious  marches  was 
a  chestnut  sorrel.  His  hind  legs  were  crooked,  showing  great 
propelling  power,  and  was  nick-named  by  the  soldiers  "Old  Bench 
Legs." 

Farley  \vas  not  only  a  splendid  speciment  of  physical  manhood, 
as  handsome  as  a  picture,  his  seat  and  pose  in  the  saddle  being 
perfect,  but  he  was  most  genial  and  companionable.  His  courage 
and  gallantry  was  of  the  highest  and  best  order.  Young,  hopeful, 
dashing,  brave,  tireless  in  the  performance  of  duty,  it  does  seem 
very  hard  that  he  should  have  been  thus  suddenly  taken  off. 

I  venture  the  opinion,  however,  that  if  he  had  been  allowed  to 
choose  the  manner  of  his  death,  he  would  have  selected  it  on  the 
field  of  battle  in  front  of  the  enemy,  dying  in  defense  of  his 
country  just  as  he  met  the  grim  messenger.  (Can  you  tell  me 
where  he  was  buried  ? ) 

I  suspect  in  the  length  of  this  letter  you  have  more  than  you 
bargained  for,  but  I  feel  it  is  due  to  pooi;  Farley  that  the  real 
facts  of  his  wound  and  death  should  be  left  of  record.  Not  only 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  157 

that,  but  the  events  which  led  up  to  it.  This  is  my  apology. 
There  are  so  many  romances  written  and  published  about  the  war 
that  it  is  important  to  get  the  truth  of  history.  The  truth  is 
quite  sufficient  for  the  vindication  of  those  of  us  who  engaged 
in  it. 

I  intended  to  add  to  this  a  short  sketch  of  Lieutenant- Colonel 
Frank  Hampton  and  Captain  Eobin  Jones,  of  the  First  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  both  of  whom  were  killed  the  same  day  as 
Farley — both  the  very  highest  type  of  the  gentleman  and  soldier, 
but  I  have  extended  this  commmunication  far  beyond  what  I 
intended  when  I  took  my  pen  to  answer  your  letter. 

Very  truly  yours, 

M.  C.  BUTLER. 


NOTE — After  the  noted  cavalry  review  to  which  General  Butler 
refers,  we  rode  wyith  the  gallant  young  Farley  from  the  reviewing 
ground  to  the  camp  of  the  First  South  Carolina  Regiment,  of 
which  I  wras  a  member,  and  which  was  near  Fleetwood  Hill,  Gen 
eral  Stuart's  headquarters  at  the  time.  I  was  mounted  on  a  fine 
young  chestnut  bay,  one  of  Kentucky's  best  bluegrass  equine 
products.  Young  Farley  seemed  to  have  special  admiration  for 
the  animal — a  good  horse  to  a  cavalryman  being  considered  of 
priceless  valuation.  So  he  inquired  w-hether  the  horse  had  been 
appraised — as  for  every  horse  killed  in  action  the  government 
paid  its  owner  the  appraised  valuation,  Confederate  cavalry 
horses  being  private  property.  Hence,  he  added :  "If  he  has  not 
been  appraised,  you  should  have  it  done  at  once,  because  we're 
sure  to  have  a  fight  very  soon" — apparently  more  anxious  about 
my  pecuniary  interest  than  for  his  own  personal  safety.  In  a  few 
short  hours  he  lay  dead  on  the  battlefield,  or  within  its  radius. 
True  to  his  prediction,  the  noted  cavalry  battle  of  Brandy  Station 
opened  before  sunrise  the  following  morning,  in  which  the  chiv 
alrous  young  hero  lost  his  life;  and  my  horse,  about  which  he 
seemed  so  anxious,  was  shot  and  killed  under  me  about  the  same 
time  Farley  received  his  mortal  wound  and  General  Butler  was 
seriously  wounded,  losing  a  leg — the  same  shell  inflicting  both 
wounds. 


158  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Young  Farley  was  a  native  of  this  place,  a  son  of  the  late  Major 
Wm.  F.  and  Mrs.  Phoebe  Farley.  We  can  add  nothing  to  the 
graceful  and  well-deserved  tribute  General  Butlgr  pays  the  long- 
sleeping,  valorous  hero,  William  D.  Farley. 

In  answer  to  General  Butler's  enquiry  as  to  the  place  where 
young  Farley  was  buried,  we  are  able  to  say  that  he  was  interred 
at  Culpepper  Court  House,  Va.,  where  his  remains  still  rest,  not 
far  from  the  spot  where  he  was  killed,  and  where  lie  a  number 
of  other  Confederates,  whose  graves  are  lovingly  cared  for  by  the 
good  ladies  of  that  place--  -ED.  L.  HERALD. 


COLONEL    T.    J.    LIPSCOMB 


160  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


COLONEL  THOMAS  J.  LIPSCOMB 

"Still  o'er  these  scenes  my  memory  wakes 

And  fondly  broods  with  miser  care — 
Time  but  the  impression  deeper  makes, 
As  streams  their  channels  deeper  wear." 

The  battle  of  Brandy  Station  was  fought  on  the  9th  day  of 
June,  1863.  In  this  cavalry  fight  General  Butler  and  Captain 
Farley  had  each  a  leg  shot  off  and  their  horses  killed  by  the  same 
cannon  ball.  General  Butler's  horse  was  a  splendid  chestnut 
sorrel  named  Benchlegs.  After  the  cannon  ball  had  passed 
through  his  stomach  he  ran  one  mile  and  a  half  with  his  entrails 
hanging  out,  back  to  camp.  General  Butler  was  then  colonel  of 
one  of  the  best  cavalry  regiments  any  war  ever  produced,  the 
Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  Frank  Hampton  was  lieutenant- 
colonel,  and  Thomas  J.  Lipscomb  was  major.  Lieutenant- Colonel 
Hampton  was  killed  just  before  Colonel  Butler  was  wounded. 
Major  Lipscomb  rode  up  to  have  Colonel  Butler  and  Captain 
Farley  moved  back  to  the  rear.  Butler  said  in  the  coolest  manner 
possible:  "Major  Lipscomb,  you  will  continue  to  fight  and  fall 
back  slowly  towards  Culpepper,  and  if  you  can  save  us  from 
capture  do  it."  Butler  was  lying  on  a  litter.  Farley  was  in  an 
old  horse  trough  and  quietly  reached  out  and  took  hold  of  his 
dismembered  leg  and  said,  "Come,  we  will  go  together."  And  at 
nine  o'clock  that  night  the  soul  of  this  chivalrous  young  hero  went 
out  into  the  great  beyond.  His  remains  rests  under  a  beautiful 
monument,  among  the  people  he  loved,  at  Culpepper,  Virginia. 
Butler  was  soon  in  the  saddle  again  as  brigadier-general,  and  the 
gallant  Major  Lipscomb  was  immediately  promoted  to  colonel  of 
this  brave  old  veteran  regiment,  and  had  the  distinction  to  com 
mand  it  during  the  remainder  of  the  war.  Captain  Robin  Cad- 
wallader  Jones,  another  young  hero,  gave  up  his  life  in  this  same 
fight  at  Brandy  Station.  He  was  the  uncle  to  our  honored  fellow- 
townsmen  General  Wilie  Jones  and  Captain  Allen  Jones,  and 
was  the  handsomest  man  in  York  County  when  the  tocsin  of  war 
was  sounded  in  1861.  He  helped  Colonel  Black  raise  the  First 
South  Carolina  Cavalry  Regiment.  While  raising  his  company 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  161 

he  would  give  his  notes  for  horses  and  turn  them  over  to  the 
gallant  boys  who  were  not  able  to  mount  themselves.  After  the 
Confederate  sun  sank  behind  the  horizon  at  Appomattox,  the 
widow  of  this  gallant  hero  paid  every  dollar  that  these  numerous 
notes  called  for,  leaving  her  and  their  four  orphan  children  almost 
penniless.  He  lived  in  affluence  before  the  war.  More  than  100 
slaves  and  large  tracts  of  land  were  his  then.  In  leading  the 
charge  his  was  the  only  horse  in  the  company  which  could  jump 
the  wide  ditch,  and  there  he  was  right  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy, 
and  fought  to  the  death  before  his  men  could  cross  lower  down 
and  rescue  him.  Thus  ended  the  career  of  this  typical  American 
soldier,  one  of  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  Here  Stuart  and  Hamp 
ton  met  Pleasanton  and  Gregg;  here  the  great  cavalry  battle 
occurred,  and  here  the  mouldering  bones  of  many  a  cavalry  hero 
attest  full  w^ell  how  that  field  was  fought  and  won. 

On  one  occasion  when  Butler  and  his  cavalry  were  in  Maryland, 
Tom  Purdee,  who  was  orderly  to  Colonel  Frank  Hampton  and 
retained  as  such  by  Colonel  Lipscomb,  rode  up  to  Colonel  Lips- 
comb  about  dark  and  said,  "Colonel,  I  am  sorry,  but  this  jar  of 
preserves  was  all  that  I  could  get  for  your  supper,"  and  just  as 
the  men  had  unsaddled,  some  one  said,  "The  Yankees  are  coming." 
Colonel  Lipscomb  had  the  saddle-up  call  sounded  and  went  to 
fighting,  contesting  every  foot  of  ground  until  it  was  too  dark  to 
fight.  The  Yankees  camped  where  Colonel  Lipscomb  had  hid 
the  preserves.  Just  before  dawn  next  morning  Colonel  Lipscomb 
with  his  gallant  boys,  were  riding  over  the  men  in  blue  and  after 
fighting  all  day  resumed  his  old  camp  that  night,  when  Tom 
Purdee  said,  "I  wish  we  had  the  preserves,  but  of  course  the 
Yankees  got  the  jar."  They  had  nothing  to  eat,  and  the  pre 
serves  had  to  be  found,  so  Colonel  Lipscomb  looked  under  a  bush 
and  there  they  were,  and  began  to  eat,  after  giving  Doctor  Taylor 
and  Chaplain  Manning  Brown  some.  When  the  jar  was  about 
half  emptied,  Tom  Purdee  said,  "Colonel,  have  you  got  a  match  ? 
I  want  to  light  this  piece  of  candle,"  and  by  the  flickering  light 
they  could  see  the  largest  kind  of  black  ants  hanging  to  each  of 
the  preserved  pears  as  they  would  take  them  up.  Doctor  Taylor 
and  Chaplain  Brown  immediately  took  ipecac.  Tom  Purdee  said, 
"Colonel,  suppose  we  hold  to  what  we  have  got,"  and  were  soon 


11— B.  c. 


162  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

asleep,  while  the  doctor  and  the  chaplain  were  wide  awake,  and 
oh,  so  hungry. 

In  1863  Captain  McDonald,  of  the  First  Michigan  Cavalry, 
was  sent  out  with  a  squad  of  men  to  do  up  the  "Iron  Scouts." 
Dick  Hogan,  Bill  Mikler,  Jack  Shoolbred,  Newt.  Fowles,  Barney 
Henegan,  Calhoun  Sparks,  Cecil  Johnson,  Hugh  Mikler,  Prioleau 
Henderson,  Joe  Beck,  George  Crafton  and  Jim  Dulin  were  the 
kind  of  men  that  Captain  McDonald  was  sent  after.  Only  three 
or  four  of  the  above  scouts  met  him.  They  saw  him  coming  and 
when  it  suited  them  they  charged  him,  killing  and  capturing  the 
last  one  of  them.  Jack  Shoolbred,  having  emptied  one  pistol, 
threw  it  at  the  gallant  Captain  McDonald,  striking  him  on  the 
head,  and,  he  being  stunned  by  the  blow,  Jack  drew  his  other 
pistol  and  shot  him  in  the  shoulder.  McDonald  said,  "You  have 
wounded  me,  and  I  will  surrender."  Thus  ended  McDonald's 
raids  for  a  while  at  least. 

In  this  same  year,  1863,  Dick  Hogan  established  what  he  called 
Libby  Prison  No.  2,  away  back  in  the  thick  pines,  where,  as  Dick 
said,  wild  Yankees  did  not  go,  in  a  secluded  place  in  Stafford 
County.  He  secured  a  two-story  log  house  for  this  prison,  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  prisoners  until  he  had  caught  at  least 
twenty-five  or  thirty,  which  he  would  send  under  an  escort  back  to 
our  lines.  This  was  a  very  dangerous  operation  to  perform. 
Captain  McDonald  was  recaptured  by  the  Yankee  cavalry  while 
he  was  being  sent  back  to  our  lines.  Hogan  and  Mikler  would 
scatter  their  men  all  over  the  country.  One  day  Dick  Hogan  and 
Wallace  Miller  stopped  at  a  house  about  three  miles  from  Libby 
No.  2  when  the  lady  ran  out  and  said,  "Mr.  Hogan,  there  is  a 
Yankee  at  my  table."  Hog'an  said,  "Miller,  hold  my  horse,"  and 
soon  had  the  bluecoat  securely  locked  up  in  Libby  No.  2. 

Brigadier-General  Thos.  L.  Rosser  and  his  Virginia  brigade, 
Brigadier- General  P.  M.  B.  Young  and  his  Georgia  brigade, 
Brigadier-General  John  Dunovant  and  his  South  Carolina 
brigade,  formed  Butler's  division — First  Division  Cavalry,  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia — in  1864.  Here  is  one  of  General  Rosser 's 
reports,  which  gives  a  very  good  idea  of  the  many  disadvantages 
that  our  cavalry  labored  under.  General  Rosser  says:  "I  often 
went  into  battle  or  on  a  raid  with  one-third  of  my  men  dis 
mounted,  and  generally  succeeded  in  mounting  them  from  cap 
tures." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  163 

Some  horses  were  as  good  and  kind  as  their  masters  were 
to  them,  and  had  a  real  affection  for  their  riders,  while  others 
acted  like  devils,  as  the  following  shows:  In  the  month  of  Jan 
uary,  1865,  General  W.  M.  Gary's  scouts  did  good  work  on  the 
Chickahominy.  His  brigade  was  composed  of  the  Hampton 
Legion,  Colonel  Robert  Logan;  the  Seventh  South  Carolina 
Cavalry,  Colonel  A.  C.  Haskell,  and  the  Twenty-fourth  Virginia 
Cavalry,  Colonel  Wm.  T.  Robins.  General  Gary's  scouts  from  the 
Hampton  Legion  were  under  Sergeant  Dave  Dannelly,  D.  H. 
Tompkins,  Jim  Day,  George  Dannerly,  John  DeVore,  Bill 
Lumpkin,  Bill  Carter,  Joe  Maroney  and  Ben  Carson ;  there  were 
others  in  the  other  two  regiments  just  as  good. 

One  day  General  Gary  sent  Captain  Dabney  of  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Virginia  Cavalry,  with  his  company,  to  drive  in  the 
Yankee  pickets.  The  scouts,  of  course,  had  to  lead  the  charge. 
So  Dan  Tompkins  was  selected  to  perform  this  thrilling  task, 
which  he  did  handsomely  as  we  will  soon  see.  Being  on  a 
splendid  Yankee  horse,  as  soon  as  the  horse  heard  the  Rebel  yell 
he  became  unruly  and  ran  away  with  him.  The  nearer  he 
approached  the  vidette,  stationed  about  two  hundred  yards  this 
side  of  the  regular  picket  post,  the  more  serene  the  vidette  looked 
to  him.  Dan  thought  his  wrild  horse  would  soon  have  him  shot  and 
captured,  but  as  he  rode  up  to  the  Yank  he  at  once  surrendered. 
Dan  said,  "Why  didn't  you  run?"  And  he  replied,  "I  have  been 
trying  to  make  this  d — d  horse  go  ever  since  I  heard  you  coming, 
but  not  one  foot  would  he  budge."  Dan  took  the  prisoner  and  his 
beautiful  horse  while  Captain  Dabney  picked  up  a  horse  or  two 
at  the  picket  post.  This  stubborn  horse  was  a  perfect  beauty,  and 
when  Dan  got  back  to  camp  Bill  Lumpkin  fell  in  love,  not  with 
the  Yank,  but  the  horse,  and  Dan  let  him  have  him,  which  he 
petted  and  prized  very  highly  indeed.  A  short  time  after  this 
General  Gary  sent  Dannelly's  scouts  down  to  Harrison's  Landing, 
on  the  River  James,  where  they  picked  up  four  Yanks  on  picket, 
and  in  bringing  them  out  on  up  the  Chickahominy  they  stopped 
at  Mr.  Gates's  house  to  feed  and  eat  breakfast,  and  just  as  they 
had  finished  Mr.  Gates  said,  "Here  comes  the  Nigger  Squadron" 
(two  companies) .  The  scouts  only  had  time  to  mount  their  horses 
bareback  as  they  took  them  out  of  the  stable.  Lumpkin  was 
already  in  the  lot  petting  his  beautiful  horse,  and  just  as  he  made 


164  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  spring  to  mount,  the  infernal  horse  jumped  from  under  him, 
and  then  and  there  he  was  murdered.  The  negroes  and  their 
white  officers  followed  the  bareback  riders  to  the  woods,  but 
nothing  could  induce  them  to  follow,  as  they  had  been  bush 
whacked  several  times  before.  They  left  in  a  hurry  for  fear 
the  scouts  might  return  with  others.  Poor  Lumpkin  died  fighting 
like  a  man ;  there  was  no  use  to  ask  for  mercy.  That  evening  our 
scouts  went  back  and  got  Lumpkin's  remains  and  gave  him  as 
decent  a  burial  as  they  could  under  the  circumstances. 

"Do  we  weep  for  the  heroes  who  died  for  us, 
Who,  living,  were  true  and  tried  for  us, 
And  dying  sleep  side  by  side  for  us, 
The  martyr-band 
That  hallowed  our  land 
With  the  blood  they  shed  in  a  tide  for  us?" 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  165 


BUTLER'S  CAVALRY  AT  BRANDY  STATION 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  June  the  atmosphere  was  in  a 
condition  peculiarly  favorable  for  the  transmission  of  sound,  and 
the  firing  of  the  pickets  at  Beverly's  Ford  aroused  Stuart's  entire 
command.  At  early  dawn  General  Hampton  rode  in  person  to 
Colonel  Butler's  camp,  which  was  half  way  between  Brandy 
Station  and  Stevensburg,  and  directed  him  to  mount  his  regi 
ment,  move  one  mile  to  Brandy  Station,  and  there  await  orders. 
In  executing  this  order,  Butler  left  Lieutenant  W.  W.  Broughton, 
officer  of  the  guard,  with  fourteen  men,  in  charge  of  the  camp, 
directing  him  to  send  two  videttes  about  one  mile  to  Stevensburg. 
Butler  had  hardly  reached  Brandy  Station  when  Lieutenant 
Broughton  reported  that  the  enemy  was  advancing  on  the  road 
near  Stevensburg  and  that  the  wagons  of  the  regiment  were  in 
danger.  Knowing  that  there  was  no  force  of  cavalry  between 
Stevensburg  and  Culpepper  Court  House,  six  miles  away,  where 
lay  General  Lee  with  Longstreet's  and  Ewell's  Corps,  Butler  did 
not  wait  orders,  but  moved  at  once  to  meet  the  danger.  He  sent 
forward,  at  a  gallop,  in  advance  of  the  regiment,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Frank  Hampton  with  twenty  men,  to  observe  and  delay 
the  enemy  until  the  regiment  could  reach  the  range  of  the  hills 
known  as  Hansborough's  Mount,  where  Butler  wished  to  contest 
his  advance.  Colonel  Hampton  pursued  the  direct  road  to 
Stevensburg,  and  meeting  Lieutenant  Broughton's  party,  learned 
that  a  squadron  of  the  enemy  had  advanced  into  the  town  and  had 
again  retired.  As  Hampton's  party,  now  numbering  thirty-six 
men,  reached  Stevensburg,  he  found  this  squadron  drawn  up  in  a 
position  of  observation  on  the  east  side  of  the  town.  He  imme 
diately  ordered  a  charge,  which  the  enemy  did  not  wait  to  receive 
but  retired  in  the  direction  of  their  main  body.  Colonel  Butler 
had,  in  the  meantime,  led  his  regiment  on  a  by-road  to  the  east  of 
Stevensburg,  and  reached  the  main  road  just  in  rear  of  this 
retreating  squadron,  the  pursuit  of  which  was  continued  past 
Doggett's  house  to  the  wide  stretch  of  open  field  beyond,  over 
which  the  enemy  was  seen  advancing  in  force.  Judging  that  the 
attack  would  be  made  from  the  open  field  north  of  the  road, 


166  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Butler  withdrew  his  regiment  to  the  line  of  wooded  hills  already 
described.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  occupy  a  line  from  Dog- 
gett's  house  to  Hansborough's,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  mile,  and  to 
cover  this  line  he  had  less  than  two  hundred  men.  Leaving  the 
thirty-six  men  under  Colonel  Hampton  to  act  mounted  on  the 
road,  Butler  deployed  the  remainder  of  his  regiment  on  foot 
along  the  line  on  the  north  side  of  the  road.  Colonel  Hampton 
was  ordered  by  Butler  to  charge  anything  which  might  assail  him. 
The  position  in  which  Butler  awaited  attack  was  well  chosen. 
The  woods  concealed  the  smallness  of  his  numbers,  and  even  on 
the  road  the  sloping  ground  prevented  the  enemy  from  discov 
ering  any  but  the  leading  files  of  Hampton's  mounted  detachment. 
The  enemy's  advance  was  at  first  cautious,  even  timid.  As  Butler 
had  anticipated,  the  first  attempt  was  to  break  the  line  of  his 
dismounted  men  on  his  left,  and  two  such  attacks  were  made; 
but  both  were  repulsed  by  the  close  fire  of  his  Erifield  rifles.  The 
enemy  now  turned  his  attention  to  Hampton's  position,  and  pre 
pared  to  carry  it  by  a  direct  sabre  charge  in  the  road,  supported  by 
squadrons  on  either  flank.  To  meet  this  attack  Colonel  Hampton 
dismounted' nearly  one-half  of  his  men  for  protection  of  his 
flanks,  retaining  but  twenty  to  meet  the  enemy's  mounted  charge. 
Between  Hampton's  position  on  the  road  and  the  nearest  point 
of  the  line  of  Butler's  dismounted  men  was  a  considerable  gap. 

At  this  juncture  Colonel  Wickham  arrived  with  the  Fourth 
Virginia  Cavalry.  He  had  been  turned  off  from  the  direct  road 
to  Stevensburg  by  Captain  W.  D.  Farley,  volunteer  aide-de-camp 
to  General  Stuart,  and  had  been  guided  along  the  same  obscure 
road  by  which  Butler  had  advanced.  He  now  found  himself  on 
the  right  of  Butler's  dismounted  men,  the  head  of  his  column 
resting  on  the  main  road  east  of  Stevensburg,  just  in  rear  of  the 
position  held  by  Hampton's  mounted  detachment.  The  charge 
in  the  direction  of  his  march  was  most  unfortunate,  and  was  the 
real  cause  of  the  stampede  which  ensued.  Had  Wickham  moved 
through  Stevensburg,  as  he  would  have  done  had  he  not  met 
Captain  Farley,  his  regiment  would  have  been  in  position  to  meet 
the  enemy,  whose  advance  might  have  been  checked  at  the  strong 
line  occupied  by  Butler.  The  circumstances  in  which  Wickham 
was  placed  were  peculiar.  His  own  regiment  was  in  a  position 
where  it  was  impossible  for  it  to  act,  enclosed  as  it  was  in  a  thick 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  167 

pine  copse,  on  a  narrow  by-road,  where  even  a  column  of  fours 
could  scarcely  move.  It  was,  therefore,  necessary  to  turn  the 
head  of  his  column  westward  toward  Stevensburg,  and  after  thus 
gaining  the  main  road  to  wheel  about  by  fours,  placing  his  left 
in  front.  Ignorant  of  the  dispositions  made  by  Butler  and  of  the 
events  which  had  already  occurred,  Wickham  naturally  hesitated 
to  give  orders  either  to  Butler  or  Hampton  until  he  could  bring 
his  own  regiment  into  action. 

Major  T.  J.  Lipscomb,  commanding  the  Second  South  Caro 
lina  Cavalry  after  Colonel  Butler  was  disabled  and  Colonel 
Hampton  was  killed,  in  an  appendix  to  his  report  dictated  by 
Colonel  Butler,  states  that  the  command  was  turned  over  to 
Colonel  Wickham  by  Colonel  Butler,  and  that  it  was  suggested 
that  Colonel  Hampton's  position  be  strengthened  by  sharpshooters 
on  the  right,  and  by  a  mounted  force  in  the  road.  The  communi 
cation  between  Butler  and  Wickham  was  made  through  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  AY.  H.  Payne  of  the  Fourth  Virginia.  Very  few 
of  Hampton's  men  continued  on  the  road  with  the  Fourth  Vir 
ginia.  Most  of  them  gave  way  to  the  left  toward  the  line  of  the 
dismounted  men  of  their  own  regiment.  Simultaneous  with  the 
charge  on  the  road,  a  squadron  of  the  enemy  had  attacked  the  left 
of  Butler's  line,  which  was  held  by  Lieutenant  Markert,  but  the 
attack  was  readily  repulsed,  and  Markert's  line,  still  intact,  offered 
a  good  rallying  point  for  Hampton's  men.  Adjutant  Moore  says 
(now  General  James  Moore)  :  "I  was  told  that  some  of  the  men, 
among  whom  was  Lieutenant  W.  H.  Waring,  as  soon  as  they  got 
out  of  the  road,  stopped  and  began  firing  into  the  enemy,  nor  did 
they  leave  their  position  by  the  road  until  the  head  of  the 
charging  column  had  gone  so  far  beyond  them  as  to  render  them 
liable  to  be  cut  off  and  captured;  that  Lynch,  of  Company  H, 
knocked  two  dragoons  off  their  horses  with  the  butt  of  his  rifle 
before  he  was  surrounded  and  captured;  and  I  remember  that 
when  I  was  engaged  in  rallying  these  men,  Babb,  of  Company  E, 
brought  me  a  prisoner  whom  he  had  captured  after  a  hand-to- 
hand  fight;  and  I  saw  Fender,  of  Company  H,  who  was  badly 
wounded  before  the  charge,  just  afterwards  on  a  fine  horse, 
having  killed  the  Federal  dragoon  who  rode  him." 

Colonel  Hampton,  while  engaging  one  of  the  enemy  with  his 
sabre,  was  shot  through  the  body  by  another,  and  was  mortally 


168  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

wounded.     He  succeeded  in  reaching  the  house  of  John  S.  Bar 
hour,  west  of  Stevensburg,  where  he  died  that  night. 

Major  Lipscomb's  report  narrates  the  events  .which  now  fol 
lowed.    He  says : 

"The  enemy  having  gained  possession  of  the  road  and  passed 
through  Stevensburg  on  the  road  to  Culpepper,  the  right  of  our 
line  fell  back  obliquely  to  the  road  leading  from  Stevensburg  to 
Brandy  Station.  They  were  rallied  and  formed  by  Colonel 
Butler  between  Stevensburg  and  Norman's  Mill,  but  the  columns 
of  the  enemy  pouring  out  of  the  w^oods  on  his  left,  and  threat 
ening  to  gain  his  rear,  compelled  him  to  fall  back  beyond 
Norman's  Mill  and  take  a  new  position  on  the  hill  near  Beckham's 
house.  Colonel  Butler  ordered  me  to  hold  my  position,  and  if 
they  pressed  on  the  right  to  move  in  that  direction.  The  firing 
on  the  right  gradually  got  to  my  rear,  and  I  was  in  the  act  of 
moving  when  Captain  Farley,  of  General  Stuart's  staff,  brought 
to  me  a  squadron  of  the  Fourth  Virginia  Cavalry,  with  orders  to 
hold  my  position.  I  immediately  put  all  the  riflemen  in  position. 
'About  half  an  hour  afterwards  I  received  orders  from  Colonel 
Butler  to  retire  with  rapidity  across  Mountain  Run.  My  line  was 
extended,  and  by  the  time  the  riflemen  were  mounted  the  right 
and  left  of  our  line  had  both  fallen  back  across  Mountain  Run. 
Having  sixteen  dismounted  men  with  me,  I  was  obliged  to  retire 
slowly  to  protect  them.  When  I  reached  the  open  field  I  found  a 
column  of  the  enemy  on  either  flank,  from  three  to  four  hundred 
yards  distant,  and  also  moving  to  Mountain  Run.  Our  artillery 
fired  two  shots  which  fell  near  me,  and  which,  I  think,  caused  the 
enemy  to  take  me  for  one  of  their  own  columns,  as  they  did  not 
fire  on  me  until  after  I  had  crossed  the  Run." 

Butler  had  now  secured  a  good  position  covering  the  road  to 
Brandy  Station  and  where  he  might  expect  soon  to  be  reenforced 
by  the  Fourth  Virginia  Cavalry.  Moreover,  he  threatened  the 
enemy's  flank  should  he  advance  towards  Culpepper  Court  House. 
The  one  gun  which  had  followed  Colonel  Wickham  from  Brandy 
Station  was  now  available,  and  Butler  proposed  to  make  a  stand. 
But  while  in  the  road,  side  by  side  with  Captain  Farley,  their 
horses'  heads  in  opposite  directions,  a  shell  from  the  enemy  struck 
the  ground  near  by,  ricochetted,  cut  off  Butler's  right  leg  above 
the  ankle,  passed  through  his  horse,  through  Farley's  horse,  and 
carried  away  Farley's  leg  at  the  knee. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  169 

The  Hon.  John  T.  Rhett  addresses  his  narrative,  from  which 
I  have  already  largely  drawn,  to  the  Hon.  M.  C.  Butler ;  and  thus 
describes  a  scene  which  for  knightly  courtesy  and  heroism  cannot 
be  surpassed: 

"After  we  crossed  the  stream  the  enemy  placed  a  gun  in  posi 
tion  in  full  view  of  us  all.  While  they  were  so  doing  you  ordered 
us  to  retire.  As  we  were  moving  off  I  was  turned  in  my  saddle 
looking  backwards.  I  saw  the  artillerymen  fire  the  gun,  heard  an 
exclamation,  and  saw  that  the  shot  had  taken  effect  in  the  small 
group  with  you.  Captain  Chestnut  and  myself,  with  a  few  men, 
hastened  to  the  spot.  We  first  went  to  you,  sending  some  men  to 
aid  Captain  Farley.  When  we  had  placed  you  in  a  blanket,  you 
said  to  us,  'I  wish  that  you  two  gentlemen,  as  you  have  placed  me 
in  the  hands  of  my  own  men,  would  go  and  take  charge  of  Farley.' 
We  went  to  Captain  Farley,  told  him  that  you  had  sent  us,  took 
him  out  of  a  blanket  and  placed  him  in  an  old  flat  trough.  He 
was  very  cool,  in  fact  pleasant  and  smiling,  though  evidently  in 
great  pain.  Just  as  we  were  about  to  send  him  awray,  he  called 
me  to  him,  pointing  to  the  leg  that  had  been  cut  off  by  the  ball, 
and  which  was  lying  near  by,  he  asked  me  to  bring  it  to  him.  I 
did  so.  He  took  it,  pressed  it  to  his  bosom  as  one  would  a  child, 
and  said,  smiling,  ;It  is  an  old  friend,  gentlemen,  and  I  do  not 
wish  to  part  from  it.'  Chestnut  and  myself  shook  hands  with 
him,  bidding  him  good-bye,  and  expressing  the  hope  that  we 
should  soon  see  him  again.  He  said,  'Good-bye,  gentlemen,  and 
forever.  I  know  my  condition  and  we  will  not  meet  again.  1 
thank  you  for  your  kindness.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  that  I  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  good  Carolinians  at  my  last  moment.' 
Courteously,  even  smilingly,  he  nodded  his  head  to  us  as  the  men 
bore  him  away.  He  died  within  a  few  hours.  I  have  never  seen 
a  man  whose  demeanor,  in  the  face  of  certain,  painful,  and  quick 
death,  was  so  superb.  I  have  never  encountered  anything  so 
brave  from  first  to  last."* 

General  Wade  Hampton  told  me  that  but  for  the  fact  that  the 
"Fourth  Virginia  Cavalry,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Wick- 
ham,  broke  and  ran,  that  his  brother,  Colonel  Frank  Hampton, 
would  not  have  been  killed  that  day." 


*The  above  is  taken  from  the  "Campaigns  of  Stuart's  Cavalry,"  by  H.  B. 
McClellan. 


170  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

When  an  officer  gets  nervous  and  excited,  in  other  words  scared, 
his  men  generally  fall  into  the  same  error  and  with  a  little 
encouragement  they  leave  in  confusion.  9 

The  total  Confederate  loss  in  this  fight  was  523  officers  and 
enlisted  men.  We  captured  three  pieces  of  artillery,  six  regi 
mental  and  company  flags  and  486  prisoners.  The  Yankees  lost 
936  officers  and  enlisted  men.  The  forces  engaged  on  the  Yankee 
side,  according  to  their  general,  Pleasanton,  were  10,981  effective 
men,  twenty-four  regiments  of  cavalry  and  two  brigades  of 
infantry.  On  the  Confederate  side  were  9,536  effective  men, 
fifteen  cavalry  regiments  and  no  infantry.  Both  sides  had  their 
own  horse  artillery.  Take  from  this  number  of  9,536  Robertson's 
brigade,  which  did  not  fire  a  gun,  and  could  not  from  where  he 
was,  and  Fitz  Lee's  brigade  did  not  take  part  in  the  fight  until 
late  in  the  afternoon,  save  one  regiment,  the  Fourth  Virginia; 
thus  we  can  safely  assume  that  not  more  than  7,500  effective  men 
took  an  active  part  in  this  great  cavalry  fight  on  our  side. 

After  Doctor  Taylor  had  amputated  General  Butle's  leg  on  the 
battlefield,  and  he  had  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  anesthetic, 
he  asked  Doctor  Taylor  if  he  had  talked  any  during  the  opera 
tion,  and  the  good  doctor  said,  "Yes,  you  strongly  admonished 
W.  C.  Swaffield  to  keep  his  little  sorrel  mare  under  better  control 
in  line  while  drilling."  Of  course,  the  general  remembered  of 
nothing  what  was  said  and  his  mind  was  only  wandering  in  the 
past. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  171 


AFTERMATH  OF  BRANDY  STATION 

The  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry  went  into  the  battle  of 
Brandy  Station,  June  9th,  1863,  with  240  men.  The  next  day 
we  reported  for  duty  about  200  men  under  the  command  of  Major 
Thomas  J.  Lipscomb,  Colonel  Butler  having  lost  a  leg  in  that 
battle,  and  Lieutenant- Colonel  Frank  Hampton  having  been 
mortally  wounded,  dying  at  eight  o'clock  that  night.  On  the  13th 
of  June  Captain  J.  P.  McFie  arrived  with  a  detachment  of  118 
men  who  had  been  sent  back  to  South  Carolina  to  remount.  This 
brought  the  effective  force  of  the  regiment  up  to  about  320  men. 
I  have  before  me  in  my  note  book  a  copy  of  my  field  return,  made 
just  about  three  weeks  afterwards,  when  we  were  going  into  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  which  shows  that  of  the  320  only  137  were 
left  to  go  into  that  battle.  The  difference  represented  the  loss 
of  the  regiment  during  the  three  weeks  in  skirmishes  preceding 
Upperville,  the  loss  in  that  battle  and  the  engagements  following 
that  battle,  at  Warrenton,  Va.,  Rockville,  Md.,  Westminster,  Pa., 
Hanover,  Pa.,  and  at  Hunterstown,  Pa.,  at  which  last  engage 
ment,  with  Lee's  army  to  our  back,  we  fought  to  a  late  hour  of  the 
night,  on  the  2nd  of  July,  repelling  an  attack  of  the  Federal 
cavalry  on  the  wagon  train.  At  the  close  of  the  third  day  of 
Gettysburg  we  had  scarcely  one  hundred  men  in  the  saddle.  I 
have  more  than  once  heard  General  Hampton  state  that  the  loss 
of  the  cavalry  division  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was, 
during  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
division  of  the  army.  The  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry  seems 
to  have  borne  its  full  share  of  the  loss. 

After  we  returned  to  Virginia  we  recruited  up  some  by  the 
return  to  duty  of  wounded  men,  and  men  with  disabled  horses. 
We  carried  into  the  second  battle  of  Brandy  Station  (August  1, 
1863,)  150  men.  We  lost  in  that  battle  thirty-seven  men  and  fifty 
horses.  On  that  day,  at  the  opening  of  the  battle,  Hampton's 
Brigade  was  commanded  by  Colonel  L.  S.  Baker,  of  the  First 
North  Carolina,  General  Hampton  being  disabled  by  wounds 
received  at  Gettysburg.  Colonel  Baker  was  wounded  and  the 
command  next  devolved  upon  Colonel  P.  M.  B.  Young,  of  the 


172  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Cobb  Legion.  Colonel  Young  was  wounded  and  Colonel  Black 
of  the  First  South  Carolina  succeeded  to  the  command.  Colonel 
Black  was  wounded  and  Colonel  T.  J.  Lipscomb,  of  the  Second 
South  Carolina,  then  took  command.  He  was  disabled  and  car 
ried  off  the  field,  and  Lieutenant- Colonel  Kich,  of  the  Phillips 
Legion,  took  command  of  the  brigade  during  the  remainder  of  the 
battle. 

I  recall  these  facts  because  there  seems  to  be  a  general  impres 
sion  that  the  losses  of  the  cavalry  were  always  small,  and  it  was 
comparatively  a  safe  arm  of  the  service.  In  this  connection  I  will 
mention  the  troop  in  which  I  went  into  service  in  1861,  in  the 
Hampton  Legion;  the  Beaufort  District  troop.  We  came  into 
service  with  seventy-three  men  in  1861.  In  1864,  when  they  were 
sent  back  to  recruit,  Lieutenant  John  C.  Davant,  in  command, 
marched  eighteen  men  from  the  Grahamville  depot  to  the  old 
club  house  on  their  parade  ground. 

FROM  BRANDY  STATION  TO  UPPERVILLE. 

On  the  17th  June  we  moved  from  camp  near  Brandy  Station, 
and  crossing  the  Rappahannock  at  Beverly  Ford,  passed  through 
Warrenton  and  camped  not  far  from  that  town.  The  next  day 
an  advance  of  the  enemy  was  reported  and  we  moved  back 
through  Warrenton  and  were  soon  engaged  with  the  Federal 
cavalry.  We  fought  in  an  incessantly  falling  rain  until  dark, 
driving  them  back  some  distance.  We  fought  until  night,  and 
then  in  the  pitch  darkness,  we  wended  our  way  back  to  the  piece 
of  woods  which  sheltered  us  the  night  before,  and  went  into 
bivouac,  where  all  night  long  we  strove  for  comfort,  between  rail 
fires  and  the  continual  rain.  We  did  not  get  much  comfort. 

On  the  19th  we  moved  back  through  Warrenton  and  out  on  the 
turnpike,  leaving  Thoroughfare  Gap  to  our  right,  and  reached 
Rector's  Cross  Roads  that  evening.  We  learned  that  General 
Stuart  had  been  having  a  severe  engagement  with  the  enemy  that 
day,  and  that  Major  VonBorcke,  his  magnificent-looking  Prus 
sian  staff  officer,  had  been  severely  wounded. 

On  my  last  visit  to  Colonel  Butler,  after  he  lost  his  leg,  and 
just  before  we  left  camp  near  Brandy  Station,  he  placed  in  my 
charge  all  the  papers  relative  to  the  application  for  his  appoint 
ment  as  brigadier-general.  These  papers  had  been  sent  on  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  173 

Kichmond,  but  somehow  they  had  not  been  sent  to  General  Stuart 
for  his  approval.  This  approval  was  necessary,  and  Colonel 
Butler,  through  his  personal  relations  with  Major  Sam  Melton, 
who  was  assistant  adjutant  general  of  the  Confederate  States,  had 
obtained  these  papers  from  the  files  of  the  adjutant  general's 
office.  Colonel  Butler  gave  the  papers  to  me  and  charged  me  to 
take  the  greatest  care  of  them,  and  to  deliver  them  into  the  hands 
of  General  Stuart  himself,  and  nobody  else. 

I  had  been  for  more  than  a  year  acting  in  that  close  relation 
ship  with  General  Butler  which  results,  or  should  result,  always, 
from  the  association  of  an  adjutant  with  the  colonel  of  his  regi 
ment.  And  in  addition  to  the  strong  feelings  of  friendship  for 
him,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  again  and  again,  not 
only  his  dashing  courage,  but  his  quick  and  intuitive  instinct  as 
to  what  was  the  best  disposition  of  his  troops  as  he  went  into 
action,  the  weak  point  of  the  enemy,  and  where  to  attack.  Added 
to  this  was  the  wonderful  magnetism  of  the  man  himself,  which 
seemed  to  give  him  complete  control  of  his  men,  and  to  make  them 
follow  unhesitatingly  wherever  he  chose  to  lead.  I  doubt  if  there 
is  a  man  now  of  the  old  Second  who  does  not  recall  the  thrill  that 
went  through  him  when  Butler  ordered  "Charge!"  and  how  he 
felt  ready  to  ride  on,  even  into  the  "jaws  of  death,'.'  when  he 
heard  the  order  given.  I  felt  the  responsibility  of  being  in  charge 
of  these  papers,  and  at  every  fight  we  went  into  this  responsibility 
seemed  to  grow  heavier,  as  I  thought  of  the  danger  of  their  loss. 
So,  as  soon  as  we  met  General  Stuart  at  Rector's  Cross  Roads,  I 
rode  up  to  him  and  presented  the  papers,  informing  him  of  their 
nature  and  delivering  the  message  of  Colonel  Butler.  He  directed 
me  to  hand  them  to  Major  McClellan,  which  I  did,  and  drew  a 
long  sigh  of  relief  as  the  major  placed  them  in  the  leather  pouch 
which  he  carried  slung  over  his  shoulder. 

Night  was  now  fast  approaching,  and  with  it  came  the  rain 
which  lasted  all  night  long.  We  had  not  seen  the  wagons  so  long 
we  had  almost  forgotten  how  they  looked,  and  for  days  had  no 
rations  except  the  green  corn  and  apples  we  gathered,  and  our 
horses  had  to  depend  entirely  on  grazing  when  they  got  a  chance. 
The  morning  of  the  20th  daAvned  on  a  wet,  bedraggled  and 
hungry  set  of  men  and  horses,  and  still  the  rain  kept  pouring- 
down. 


174  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

We  were  ordered  out  to  relieve  Robertson's  Brigade,  and  soon 
we  were  engaged  in  another  fight  with  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  the 
pouring  rain.  We  held  our  ground  and  drove  tkem  back.  Late 
in  the  day  I  was  directed  by  Major  Lipscomb  to  go  and  select  a 
place  to  bivouac  in.  I  picked  out  a  grove  on  the  Upperville  Pike, 
and  there  we  settled  down  for  the  night. 

With  a  premonition  that  there  would  be  business  on  the  mor 
row,  while  grazing  my  horse  I  had  cut  a  bundle  of  clover  with 
my  hunting  knife,  thinking  that  my  duties  as  adjutant  might 
prevent  any  chance  of  my  horse  grazing  in  the  morning.  This  I 
used  as  a  bed,  and  drawing  my  revolver  round  to  the  front,  but 
toning  up  my  overcoat  and  pulling  my  oilcloth  over  me,  I  went 
supperless  to  bed.  The  oilcloth  and  overcoat  kept  me  (and  my 
pistol,  more  important  than  myself,)  tolerably  dry  above,  but  the 
water  crept  up  from  below  through  the  clover,  and  my  back  and 
about  one-half  of  my  body  was  wet  all  night.  Tired  nature 
asserted  herself,  however,  and  while  I  was  aware  of  the  discom 
fort,  I  slept  through  it  all. 

UPPERVILLE. 

The  morning  of  21st  June  came.  The  rain  ceased,  and  the  mists 
disappeared  before  the  rising  sun  of  the  beautiful  Sabbath  day. 
Two  squadrons  were  sent  at  once  to  the  front  under  Captain  Gary 
and  Captain  Chestnut,  and  the  rest  of  the  regiment  were  ordered 
to  graze  their  horses.  About  nine  o'clock  we  were  ordered  to  the 
front  and  were  soon  engaged  with  the  advancing  enemy.  The 
fight  began  on  the  Upperville  turnpike  and  about  three  miles 
west  of  Middleburg,  with  the  village  of  Upperville  in  the  rear. 
We  had  present  only  four  regiments  of  Hampton's  Brigade,  the 
First  South  Carolina  and  the  Phillips  Legion  being  absent.  The 
Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry  and  the  Cobb  Legion  were  on  the 
north  side  of  the  pike,  and  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
P.  M.  B.  Young,  of  the  Cobb  Legion.  The  other  two  regiments 
of  Hampton's  Brigade  were  on  the  south  side  of  the  pike,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  L.  S.  Baker,  of  the  First  North  Carolina. 
The  Jeff  Davis  Legion  being  next  to  us  and  the  First  North  Caro 
lina  on  the  extreme  right. 

As  the  fight  progressed  I  could  see  the  enemy  were  moving 
heavy  bodies  of  infantry  over  to  our  right,  evidently  with  the 


ALFRED  ALDBICH 
MAJOR  T.   B.    FERGUSON 


JAMES   W.    MOORE 
JOHN   C.   CALHOUN 


176  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

intention  of  turning  our  right  flank.  I  could  distinguish  the 
infantry  by  the  close  order  in  which  they  marched,  and  the  gleam 
of  their  bayonets  as  they  came  into  view,  passing  over  a  crest  of 
hill  where  the  woods  were  sparse.  As  we  afterwards  learned, 
this  was  Vincent's  Brigade,  over  1,500  strong,  and  largely  out 
numbering  our  entire  brigade.  In  the  meanwhile  our  brigade  was 
fighting  in  front  of  us  the  three  brigades  of  Gregg's  Calvary 
Division.  Far  over  to  our  left  we  could  see  the  smoke  of  battle 
and  hear  the  roar  of  cannon  where  an  attack  was  at  the  same 
time  being  made  on  the  brigades  of  Robertson,  Jones  and  Wm.  H. 
Lee,  the  latter  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Chambliss,  General 
Lee  having  been  severely  wrounded  at  Brandy  Station. 

These  forces  were  holding  the  other  road,  and  were  engaged 
with  the  three  brigades  of  Buford's  Division  of  Federal  cavalry. 
The  two  roads  came  together  in  our  rear  at  or  near  Upperville. 
It  was  apparent  at  once  that  even  if  we  held  our  front,  and  the 
forces  of  our  right  or  left  were  driven  back,  we  would  have  to 
retire  to  save  ourselves  from  capture.  After  fighting  several 
hours  the  Federal  infantry  succeeded  in  outflanking  our  right  by 
their  overpowering  numbers  and  that  part  of  our  line  had  to 
retreat.  The  Jeff  Davis  Legion,  next  to  us,  was  the  last  of  the 
line,  on  the  other  side  of  the  pike,  to  fall  back,  and  the  right  flank 
of  Colonel  Young's  two  regiments  was  then  left  entirely  unpro 
tected.  At  this  juncture  the  enemy  in  front  of  us  came  rushing 
on  with  cheers ;  but  were  met  and  checked  by  a  steady  fire  of  our 
sharpshooters.  One  officer  on  a  handsome  gray  horse  was  particu 
larly  conspicuous  by  his  daring  attempts  to  lead  his  men  in  a 
charge  up  to  our  lines.  He  rode  ahead  of  them  and  came  within 
seventy  yards  of  us.  Major  Lipscomb  ordered  William  F.  Jack 
son  and  Jacob  Berg,  of  Company  B,  who  were  mounted  and 
acting  as  couriers  for  him,  to  fire  on  this  officer.  They  both  fired 
at  him,  but  he  remained  unhurt,  although  Jackson  was  a  fine 
rifle  shot.  His  horse  was,  ho\vever,  restive,  and  I  suppose  dis 
turbed  his  aim.  Berg  asked  Major  Lipscomb  to  allow  him  to 
dismount,  saying,  "I  think  I  can  get  him  then.  Major."  On 
receiving  permission,  Berg  sprang  to  the  ground,  and  at  the  crack 
of  his  rifle  the  officer  on  the  gray  horse  wheeled  and  dashed  in  a 
gallop  to  the  rear  of  the  dismounted  Federal  skirmishers.  He  was 
evidently  badly  wounded,  but  managed  for  the  time  to  keep  his 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  177 

saddle.  The  enemy  now  ceased  cheering,  but  poured  in  a  rapid 
fire  on  us  from  their  repeating  Spencer  rifles,  to  which  our  sharp 
shooters  replied  by  a  steady  fire  from  their  old-fashioned  muzzle- 
loaders.  Colonel  Young  ordered  me  to  go  to  General  Hampton 
and  say  to  him  that  all  our  troops  on  the  other  side  of  the  pike 
had  retired,  and  he  was  left  without  any  support,  but  was  able 
to  hold  his  position  as  long  as  it  might  be  necessary ;  and  ask  what 
orders  he  had  for  him. 

I  found  General  Hampton  on  a  ridge  in  the  rear  overlooking 
the  battle.  He  was  as  calm  and  composed  as  if  no  battle  was  in 
progress,  and  the  only  evidence  of  anxiety  he  showed  was  to  ride 
forward  from  his  staff  and  inquire:  "Well,  Moore,  what  is  it?" 
I  delivered  Colonel  Young's  message,  and  he  at  once  said :  "Tell 
Colonel  Young  to  fall  back  to  the  next  crest,  I  am  going  to  make 
a  stand  there."  Just  then  a  limber  chest,  of  one  of  Hart's  guns 
blew  up.  His  battery  was  in  the  rear  of  Colonel  Young's  two 
regiments,  and,  under  their  protection,  was  pouring  a  heavy  fire 
into  the  enemy.  As  the  limber  chest  exploded,  dismounting  the 
gun,  an  immense  cloud  of  smoke  arose  obscuring  all  for  the 
instant,  and  the  next  moment  the  four  horses  came  galloping  out, 
hurrying  to  escape  the  scene  of  death  behind  them.  General 
Hampton  quietly  remarked :  "Well,  I  am  afraid  Hart  has  lost  a 
gun  this  time."  We  retired  in  perfect  order  and  took  up  a  new 
line  of  battle  on  the  next  crest ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  bring  off 
Hart's  gun,  so  it  had  to  be  abandoned.  It  was  one  of  two  rifled 
Blakeley  guns  bought  by  General  Hampton  in  Europe  and  pre 
sented  to  the  battery  by  him,  and  was  highly  prized  by  the  men. 

After  holding  this  crest  for  a  time,  evidently  intending  to  make 
only  a  temporary  stand  here,  we  fell  back  to  a  line  which  was 
selected  for  our  second  position  in  the  battle.  The  position  we 
retreated  to  ran  along  Goose  Creek  and  we  held  it  for  several 
hours ;  but,  being  outflanked  again,  we  had  to  retire.  The  enemy 
had  got  a  number  of  guns  bearing  on  us,  and  their  fire  was  very 
severe.  I  recall  seeing  five  horses  of  Hart's  battery  lying  dead  in 
a  pile.  Among  other  men  of  our  regiment,  Salmon,  of  Company 
K,  received  a  ghastly  wound,  the  entire  side  of  his  face  being  torn 
away  by  a  fragment  of  a  shell.  The  withdrawal  from  the  position 
was  not  an  easy  matter,  from  the  nature  of  the  ground,  being 
rocky  hills  and  covered  with  thick  woods  and  exceedingly  difficult 

12— B.  c. 


178  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

for  horses  to  find  a  passage  through.  It  was,  however,  accom 
plished  in  good  order,  and  we  took  up  another  position  in  a  wide 
open  field  about  half  a  mile  to  the  rear.  Before  Beaching  the  line 
along  Goose  Creek  our  brigade  was  reinforced  by  the  First  South 
Carolina  Regiment,  which  had  been  absent  guarding  the  wagon 
train.  They  went  at  once  into  the  fight  in  their  own  gallant  way. 
They  were  a  "fighting  regiment,"  as  were  all  the  regiments  of 
Hampton's  Brigade;  and  they  immediately  made  themselves  felt 
by  the  enemy  on  the  part  of  our  line  where  they  were  stationed. 

To  cover  our  withdrawal  from  this  line  along  Goose  Creek 
General  Stuart  placed  the  gallant  Captain  Angus  P.  Brown,  of 
the  First  South  Carolina,  with  his  company  at  the  bridge  and 
instructed  him  to  hold  it  as  long  as  possible.  This  was  done  in  a 
most  gallant  manner,  and  the  bridge  was  held  to  the  last  possible 
moment.  When  his  men  at  last  retired  to  save  themselves  from 
capture,  Captain  Brown  was  on  the  ground  with  two  wounds,  one 
in  the  leg  and  one  in  the  head.  He  was  apparently  mortally 
wounded  and  it  was  impossible  to  carry  him  off.  When  the  Fed 
eral  cavalry  crossed  the  bridge  two  of  them  tried  to  ride  their 
horses  on  to  Captain  Brown  as  he  lay  there  apparently  dying; 
but  the  horses,  more  humane  than  their  riders,  could  not  be  forced 
to  trample  on  him.  At  this  juncture,  a  Federal  lieutenant  rode 
up  and  made  the  men  desist  from  their  inhuman  conduct.  He 
had  an  ambulance  brought  up,  and  Captain  Brown  was  placed  in 
it  and  carried  to  the  Federal  field  hospital. 

I  am  happy  to  say  he  survived  the  war,  and  at  the  time  of 
writing  this  sketch  is  still  living  in  Columbia,  S.  C. 

When  we  took  up  the  position  in  an  open  field,  after  leaving 
the  line  of  Goose  Creek,  the  enemy  drew  up  line  after  line  of 
mounted  men,  until  the  whole  country,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  was 
blue  with  them.  Here  it  was  that  Gregg's  Division  was  rein 
forced  by  the  reserve  brigade  of  Buford's  Cavalry  Division, 
making  four  brigades  of  cavalry  in  our  front,  besides  Vincent's 
Infantry  Brigade  on  our  right  flank.  With  such  a  force  it  was 
only  a  question  of  how  long  we  could  hold  our  line;  and  after 
finding  we  were  again  outflanked,  we  retired  slowly  upon  Upper- 
ville. 

When  the  Federal  cavalry  formed  in  long  lines  in  front  of  us, 
I  had  expected  they  would  advance  on  us  in  a  charge,  and  we 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  179 

would  have  a  "grand  mix  up"  on  a  field  so  well  adapted  for  it. 
This  seemed  to  be  the  hope  of  our  men,  for  there  was  nothing 
Hampton's  men  liked  so  well  in  a  fight  as  a  chance  to  use  their 
sabres. 

We  could  not  risk  advancing  to  charge  them,  as  our  right  flank 
had  already  been  doubled  back  (or  refused,  as  it  was  generally 
termed,)  to  meet  that  portion  of  Vincent's  infantry  brigade 
which  had  passed  our  right  flank  and  was  working  its  way 
steadily  toward  our  rear.  But  we  were  waiting  for  them  to 
charge,  to  teach  them  the  lesson  we  soon  afterwards  taught  them 
near  Upperville. 

Their  cavalry,  however,  remained  drawn  up  in  line,  and  they 
brought  up  several  batteries  and  opened  a  heavy  artillery  fire 
which  inflicted  a  terrible  loss  on  us  before  we  retired  as  already 
stated. 

Among  those  killed  at  this  portion  of  the  field  was  Cecil  John 
son,  of  Company  B,  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  He  was  a 
nephew  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Benjamin  J.  Johnson,  of  the 
Hampton  Legion,  who  was  killed  at  the  First  Manassas.  Cecil 
Johnson  was  one  of  the  finest  soldiers  I  ever  saw.  Utterly  devoid 
of  fear,  with  a  cool,  calm  judgment,  never  missing  a  day's  duty, 
ready  for  any  emergency,  and  always  to  be  depended  upon,  no 
matter  what  he  was  called  upon  to  do,  he  filled  completely  my 
idea  of  a  model  soldier.  He  fell,  while  firing  his  last  shot,  with 
his  rifle  at  his  shoulder. 

The  converging  roads  before  mentioned  now  brought  Robert 
son's  Brigade  up  near  the  left  flank  of  Hampton's  Brigade,  and 
lessened  a  good  deal  the  front  line  we  had  been  covering.  The 
Second  Cavalry,  being  on  the  left  of  Hampton's  Brigade,  was 
ordered  to  retire  first,  the  whole  brigade  retiring  (as  it  had  done 
all  day)  en  echelon  of  regiments.  After  leaving  the  open  fields 
near  Upperville,  and  while  passing  through  a  piece  of  woods, 
we  heard  the  unmistakable  uproar  of  a  furious  cavalry  fight  in 
our  rear.  Major  Lipscomb  at  once  wheeled  the  regiment  about, 
and  we  went  at  a  trot  for  the  scene  of  conflict.  Before  we  got 
out  of  the  woods  we  were  met  by  a  lot  of  men  from  Robertson's 
Brigade  with  dismounted  horses  hurrying  to  the  rear.  For  the 
first  time  during  the  day  I  saw  General  Stuart.  He  was  gallop 
ing  toward  the  front,  and  a  lot  of  led  horses  came  swinging  on 


180  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

at  a  gallop  to  meet  him.  He  sat  his  horse  as  if  he  were  a  part  of 
him,  and  reining  him  back  for  an  instant,  he  caught  the  connect 
ing  rein  of  the  horses  directly  in  front  of  him  and,  throwing  it 
over  his  head,  passed  on  through  to  the  front. 

The  led  horses  passed  on  to  the  left  of  our  regiment  and  went 
to  the  rear.  They  were  followed  by  a  regiment  of  Robertson's 
Brigade,  which  struck  the  head  of  our  column  and  for  a  moment 
or  two  delayed  it.  But  Major  Lipscomb  ordered  the  men  to  force 
their  way  through  the  North  Carolinians,  which  we  did.  and 
passing  on  at  a  gallop  we  emerged  from  the  woods  upon  the  open 
fields  near  Upperville.  Here  we  found  three  regiments  of  the 
brigade  reforming  after  a  desperate  conflict  with  overwhelming 
numbers.  Each  regiment  had  charged  and  defeated  three  regi 
ments  of  Federal  cavalry  successively,  and  had  driven  them  back 
over  a  half-mile.  The  opposing  forces  were  about  two  hundred 
yards  apart.  Each  engaged  in  reforming  their  ranks  after  the 
charge  and  getting  ready  to  renew  the  conflict.  Back  behind 
the  Federals'  fresh  regiments  were  rapidly  advancing  to  the 
support  of  the  disorganized  masses  in  front  of  them,  and  the  fields 
for  a  mile  back  were  blue  with  reinforcements  hurrying  to  the 
front. 

We  came  up  at  a  gallop,  and  under  General  Hampton's  orders 
to  cover  the  rest  of  the  brigade  while  they  were  reforming,  we 
passed  by  our  left  flank,  the  Jeff  Davis  Legion  being  on  our 
immediate  right,  and  halted  in  close  column  of  squadrons  about 
sixty  yards  in  advance,  and  between  them  and  the  enemy,  who 
were  both  in  front  and  on  the  left  flank.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
Federals  had  placed  a  lot  of  sharpshooters  behind  a  stone  wall 
in  our  front,  was  opened  a  galling  fire  on  us.  As  our  regiment 
was  nearest  them,  their  fire  was  directed  principally  at  us.  Here 
we  lost,  besides  others,  Sergeant  Holliday,  of  Company  F,  and 
Sergeant  Hood,  of  Company  C,  two  of  the  best  non-commissioned 
officers  of  the  regiment,  who  were  both  killed  at  this  point. 

Expecting  that  as  soon  as  the  brigade  was  reformed  we  would 
be  ordered  to  charge,  and  knowing  that  a  deep  ditch  ran  diag 
onally  across  in  front,  hidden  by  a  tall  growth  of  timothy,  I  rode 
forward  about  seventy-five  yards  to  select  a  place  for  the  regiment 
to  cross  when  the  charge  was  ordered.  As  I  reached  the  ditch,  I 
nearly  rode  upon  a  Federal  dragoon,  who  was  lying  in  the  grass 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  181 

with  a  terrible  sabre  wound  in  his  head.  He  was  lying  face  down, 
and  raised  his  head  and  groaned  as  if  the  blood  was  smothering 
him.  I  started  to  dismount  to  turn  him  over  on  his  back.  Just 
at  that  moment  two  balls  struck  my  horse,  one  barely  missing  my 
knee,  the  other  striking  him  behind  the  left  ear.  He  fell  dead  and 
rolled  over  on  me  with  my  right  leg  under  him.  I  tried  in  vain 
to  draw  my  leg  out  from  under  my  horse,  and  then  I  realized  that, 
lying  hidden  by  the  tall  grass,  I  was  liable  to  be  trampled  to  death 
by  the  horses  of  our  own  men,  when  they  advanced  to  the  charge. 
I  managed  to  raise  myself  high  enough  for  my  head  to  be  just 
visible  above  the  tall  grass,  and  called  to  Major  Lipscomb,  and 
asked  him  to  send  some  men  to  take  my  horse  off  me.  The  regi 
ment  had  seen  my  horse  go  down  with  me,  and  thought  we  were 
both  killed.  As  soon  as  my  voice  was  heard  and  my  head  seen  the 
entire  first  squadron  started  forward  to  aid  me.  Major  Lipscomb 
halted  them  and  sent  Lieutenant  John  G.  Wham  and  three  men, 
who  raised  my  horse  off  me  and  dragged  me  out  from  under  him. 
As  soon  as  I  regained  my  feet  and  found  that  my  leg  was  not 
broken,  and  that  I  could  still  use  it,  I  felt  that  I  could  then  take 
care  of  myself,  and  I  determined  not  to  risk  any  further  the  lives 
of  the  brave  men  who  had  come  to  my  aid.  The  Federal  sharp 
shooters  in  front  of  us  were  then  giving  their  almost  undivided 
attention  to  the  group  around  me,  and  the  balls  were  singing  in 
every  direction  about  us.  So  I  directed  Lieutenant  Wham  to 
mount  his  men  at  once,  to  scatter  them  and  return  to  the  regiment. 
I  can  see  him  now  before  me  with  his  look  of  surprise  as  I  gave 
the  order,  and  for  an  instant  he  stood  gazing  at  me  in  apparent 
astonishment.  I  repeated  the  order,  adding:  "Some  of  you  will 
be  killed  here  in  a  few  moments,  and  I  can  take  care  of  myself 
now."  He  gave  the  order  to  his  men,  they  mounted  and  galloped 
back  in  open  order  to  the  regiment.  I  unstrapped  my  overcoat 
from  the  bow  of  my  saddle,  and  threw  it  in  the  hollow  of  my  left 
arm,  then  I  reached  under  my  horse,  burst  loose  the  button  that 
held  the  holster,  and  drew  out  the  pistol  from  it.  I  carried  a 
revolver  in  the  holster  on  my  saddle  in  addition  to  the  Colt's  Navy 
in  my  belt.  And  bending  as  low  as  I  could  in  the  tall  timothy 
grass  to  avoid  the  aim  of  the  Federal  sharpshooters,  I  made  good 
time  back  to  the  regiment. 


182  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

I  was  carried  behind  one  of  the  men  to  the  rear  and  there  met 
a  detachment  of  the  Cobb  Legion,  which  had  about  fifty  captured 
Federals  in  charge,  most  of  them  with  sabre  cuts*  in  their  heads. 
I  made  one  of  them  dismount,  and  mounting  his  horse  I  rejoined 
the  regiment. 

The  brigade  being  reformed  and  the  enemy  having  turned  both 
our  flanks,  we  w^ere  ordered  to  retire,  which  we  did  slowrly  and  in 
perfect  order,  our  regiment  bringing  up  the  rear  and  covering  the 
rest  of  the  brigade.  After  we  had  left  Upperville  behind,  the 
Federals  made  their  final  dash  on  us.  They  were  met  by  Colonel 
P.  G.  Evans's  regiment  of  North  Carolinians,  who  were  covering 
Robertson's  Brigade,  and  on  whom  the  advance  was  made. 
Colonel  Evans  met  them  with  a  dashing  counter-charge,  and  the 
North  Carolinians  drove  them  headlong  before  them,  but  their 
gallant  colonel  was  killed  in  the  charge. 

We  moved  down  at  a  gallop  to  the  support  of  the  North  Caro 
linians,  but  the  repulse  of  the  enemy  was  final,  and  they  made  no 
other  demonstration  and  followed  no  further. 

An  accurate  description  of  the  fight  by  Hampton's  Brigade 
near  Upperville  is  given  by  Major  H.  B.  McClellan  in  the  "Life 
and  Campaigns  of  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,"  in  wyhich  he  quotes 
from  the  account  of  General  Hampton.  I  make  the  following 
extract  from  his  admirably  written  description  of  the  battle  of 
Upperville : 

"While  these  events  were  occurring  on  the  north  of  the  Upper 
ville  Pike,  General  Gregg  was  handsomely  pushing  his  advance 
upon  the  town.  Robertson's  Brigade  held  the  road  and  the  open 
fields  north  of  it.  As  he  retired  from  the  toAvn  one  of  his  regi 
ments  was  thrown  into  some  confusion,  Avhich  Avas,  hoAvever, 
instantly  relieved  by  the  splendid  conduct  of  Hampton's  Brigade 
on  the  right.  As  the  enemy  folloAved  Robertson  on  the  road 
Hampton  charged  their  flank  with  the  Jeff  Davis  Legion.  Gen 
eral  Hampton  gives  the  folloAving  account  of  this  action:  'We 
repulsed  the  enemy,  Avho  threAAT  a  fresh  regiment  on  the  right  flank 
of  the  Legion.  I  called  up  the  right  Aving  of  the  North  Carolina 
Cavalry,  five  companies  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gordon  (after- 
Avards  brigadier-general),  and  in  turn  charged.  Another  regi 
ment  charged  the  North  Carolinians,  when  Colonel  Baker,  with 
the  remaining  five  companies,  struck  them  upon  the  flank.  Baker 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  183 

was  charged  by  a  fresh  regiment.  Then  I  put  in  the  Cobb  Legion 
and  broke  the  attacking  party.  The  Cobb  Legion  was  again 
attacked,  and  again  with  the  Jeff  Davis  Legion  I  turned  the  flank ; 
and  this  series  of  charges  went  on  until  all  of  my  regiments  named 
had  charged  three  times,  and  I  had  gained  ground  to  the  right 
and  front  of  more  than  half  a  mile.  At  this  moment  the  Second 
South  Carolina  Cavalry  was  brought  up  in  good  order  from  the 
rear,  and  under  its  protection  I  reformed  my  command,  and 
retired  in  column  of  regiments,  at  a  walk  and  without  molestation. 
In  the  meantime  everything  upon  my  left  had  given  way  and  the 
enemy  were  in  Upperville.  I  came  into  the  road  beyond  the 
village  and  formed  to  support  Robertson." 

After  this  quotation  from  General  Hampton  of  the  affair  near 
Upperville,  Major  McClellan  sums  up  the  result  of  the  battle 
of  Upperville  as  follows:  "Hampton  brought  off  eighty  pris 
oners  from  the  fight.  The  enemy  advanced  but  a  short  distance 
beyond  Upperville.  The  last  charge  of  the  day  was  made  by 
Colonel  P.  G.  Evans's  regiment  of  North  Carolina  Cavalry,  of 
Robertson's  brigade.  This  was  the  regiment  which  had  become 
disordered  in  retiring  through  the  town.  Colonel  Evans  was 
determined  to  atone  for  this  disgrace.  Placing  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  column  of  fours  in  the  narrow  lane  and  pointing  with 
his  drawn  sabre  toward  the  enemy,  he  cried,  as  with  the  voice  of 
a  trumpet,  'Now,  men,  I  want  you  to  understand  that  I  am  going 
through!'  He  kept  his  word,  but  fell  mortally  wounded  in  the 
midst  of  the  enemy,  whose  ranks  he  had  penetrated  too  far  for 
the  recovery  of  his  body.  A  feeble  attempt  to  follow  this  regi 
ment  as  it  returned  from  the  charge  was  checked  by  Hampton's 
brigade  [this  was  the  forward  movement  led  by  the  Second  South 
Carolina  in  support  of  the  North  Carolina  Regiment,  of  which  I 
have  written,]  and  darkness  closed  down  upon  the  scenes  of  this 
hard-fought  day.  Had  a  longer  term  of  daylight  permitted  any 
further  advance  by  the  enemy,  they  would  have  come  into 
collision  with  Longstreet's  infantry,  which  had  come  down  from 
the  gap  to  Stuart's  aid.  He  acknowledged  in  his  report  that  he 
was  unable  to  follow  Stuart  into  the  gap,  and,  except  that  he 
assured  himself  that  the  enemy  had  no  infantry  force  in  London 
Valley,  was  unable  to  transmit  to  army  headquarters  any  other 
information  as  to  the  result  of  the  reconnoissance  'beyond  that 
given  by  the  negroes  here.' ': 


184  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

I  will  make  one  more  quotation  from  Major  McClellan's  account 
of  the  battle : 

"If  victory  in  any  passage  of  arms  is  to  be  claimed  by  either 
side,  it  must  be  accorded  to  Hampton's  Brigade,  which  at  the 
close  of  the  day  relieved  the  pressure  on  Robertson's  two  regi 
ments,  drove  back  the  forces  opposed  to  it,  regained  more  than 
half  a  mile  of  ground,  and  retired  from  the  battle  at  a  walk  and 
unmolested.  This  success  was  mainly  due  to  that  personal 
influence  which  both  during  and  since  the  war  has  marked  Hamp 
ton  as  a  leader  of  men.  When  the  Jeff  Davis  Legion  was  counter 
charged,  its  position  seemed  perilous.  Hampton  saw  the  danger, 
and  turned  to  Baker's  regiment.  Drawing  his  sabre,  and  raising 
himself  to  his  full  height,  he  cried,  'First  North  Carolina,  follow 
me!'  And  those  North  Carolinians  could  as  little  resist  that 
appeal  as  iron  can  fail  to  obey  the  magnet." 

With  the  charge  of  Evans's  North  Carolina  Regiment  the 
battle  was  virtually  ended.  We  waited  quietly  for  a  while  for 
any  demonstration  of  the  enemy,  and  finding  that  they  had  no 
intentions  of  attempting  any  further  advance,  we  retired  again  at 
a  walk.  Just  after  reaching  the  village  of  Paris  we  met  some  of 
Longstreet's  infantry  advancing  to  our  support  and  deployed  as 
skirmishers,  but  their  services  were  not  needed.  The  Federal 
cavalry  never  came  in  sight  of  them. 

And  as  the  shades  of  night  were  falling  we  dismounted  from 
our  weary  horses,  and  lay  down  to  rest  from  the  toils  and  dangers 
of  the  bloody  battlefield  of  Upperville. 


The  above  sketch  was  prepared  by  my  comrade,  General  James  W.  Moore, 
the  distinguished  lawyer  of  Hampton,  S.  C.,  who  was  adjutant  of  the 
Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry— than  whom  there  was  no  better  soldier  in 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. — U.  R.  BROOKS. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  185 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  CALVIN  HARPER  (NEGRO) 

The  annexed  statement  is  an  account  of  the  wounding  and 
subsequent  death  of  Captain  W.  D.  Farley,  being  the  recollections 
of  Calvin  Harper,  a  faithful  colored  servant  of  the  noted  scout, 
and  given  practically  in  Cal's  own  words,  which,  if  not  literally 
correct,  are  doubtless  approximately  so.  And  while  the  faithful 
old  ex- Confederate  servant  may  say  nothing  of  special  interest, 
he  is  entitled  to  some  recognition  for  his  loyalty  and  trustworthi 
ness  to  his  young  masters  (as  he  followed  more  than  one  of  them) 
and  in  being  thus,  he  was  frequently  under  fire  of  the  enemy. 
Indeed,  we  were  more  than  once  impressed  at  the  physical  courage 
manifested  on  the  part  of  negro  servants  in  the  war,  and  not  only 
their  faithfulness  and  loyalty  to  their  masters,  but  their  apparent 
loyalty  to  the  cause  for  which  those  masters  were  fighting,  while 
indifferent  to  their  own  freedom,  which  was  easily  obtainable  by 
simply  stepping  across  the  line  into  Yankee  soldierdom.  Yet  we 
never  knew  of  such  an  instance.  But  let  the  old  negro  veteran 
tell  his  story  in  his  own  way.  He  says : 

"About  three  or  four  o'clock  on  morning  of  the  fight  I  awoke 
Captain  Bill  Farley  and  told  him  I  heard  a  cannon  fire  twice  on 
Rappahannock  River.  While  we  were  talking  the  cannon  fired 
the  third  time.  Captain  Farley  then  told  me  to  go  and  wake  up 
General  Stuart  and  tell  him.  Then  Captain  Farley  asked  me  was 
I  certain  I  heard  two  cannons  fire.  I  told  him  I  did.  About  that 
time  the  General  come.  He  told  Captain  Farley  to  get  his  horse 
and  ride  down  to  the  river  and  see  what  was  the  matter,  and  to 
carry  two  or  three  couriers  with  him.  About  seven  or  eight 
o'clock  Captain  Farley  returned  and  said:  'Get  ready  and  pack 
up.  I  saw  four  columns  going  up  the  Stevensburg  road.  Get 
ready  quick  as  possible,  and  go  and  order  General  Butler  out  on 
the  road.'  I  said  to  Captain  Farley,  'Can  I  go  with  the  General?' 
He  said,  'Yes,  pack  up  all  my  things,  and  you  can  go.'  Captain 
Farley's  last  words  to  me  were,  'Don't  let  Major  (Henry)  Farley 
have  my  black  horse.'  I  then  rode  with  the  general  all  day  until 
about  three  or  four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  General  Hampton 
rode  up,  and  General  Stuart  asked  him  who  were  those  on  top 


186  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

of  the  hill.  General  Hampton  replied  that  it  was  the  enemy. 
General  Stuart  then  said  to  Hampton,  'You  must  cut  them  in  two.' 
General  Hampton  then  pulled  his  hat  down  ovfcr  his  face  and 
said,  'Forward,  men!  Forward!'  Just  at  the  old  red  house, 
below  Brandy  Station,  General  Hampton  did  cut  them  in  two, 
in  a  short  time  upon  the  hill. 

"I  followed  Captain  Farley  to  his  grave.  He  was  buried  in 
Dr.  Thomas's  vineyard,  at  Culpepper  Court  House.  I  then  went 
to  Lieutenant  Farley,  of  the  Third  Kegiment,  at  Chickamauga. 

"I  saw  President  Jeff  Davis,  who  came  to  us  on  Sunday  morn 
ing  after  the  fight.  We  were  on  top  of  Lookout  Mountain. 

"I  served  the  balance  of  the  war  with  Lieutenant  Hugh  Farley, 
and  at  last  drove  the  hearse  that  contained  his  remains  to  his  last 
bivouac." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  187 


CHARGE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN  AT  TREVILLIAN 

STATION 

New  York,  November  5th,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

My  Dear  Colonel  Brooks:  I  mailed  you  on  the  29th  ult,  copy 
of  my  diary,  kept  during  the  year  1864,  together  with  other 
papers,  which  I  trust  will  be  of  service  to  you  in  writing  the 
history  of  "Butler  and  His  Cavalry." 

I  have  a  number  of  letters  written  during  the  war  by  myself 
and  other  people,  which  give  the  particulars  in  regard  to  different 
battles,  and  the  campaign  in  which  General  Butler's  command 
was  engaged;  but  it  takes  a  lot  of  time  to  go  over  them.  If  you 
are  not  in  a  hurry,  I  will  have  them  looked  over  and  see  what 
can  be  found. 

I  enclose  you  two  letters  from  Ben  Maynard  to  my  sister,  which 
are  interesting.  One  refers  particularly  to  the  fight  at  Trevillian 
Station,  and  states  General  Hampton  complimented  me  in  person 
for  the  charge  I  made  under  orders  direct  from  him.  The  other 
refers  to  the  fight  at  Reams  Station. 

I  also  send  you  copy  of  a  letter,  dated  July  31st,  1864,  written 
from  "Malone's  Crossing,"  by  myself  to  my  sister;  this  contains 
an  account  of  our  bringing  out  of  the  enemy's  lines  a  lot  of  oats, 
fodder  and  beef  cattle,  which  had  been  bought  by  Major  Melton, 
brigade  quartermaster;  also  an  account  of  the  fight  at  "Lee's 
Mill,"  in  which  W.  H.  McDonald,  of  my  company,  was  wounded 
and  one  horse  killed;  also  in  the  junior  company  of  my  squadron, 
which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Mclver,  afterward  Chief  Jus 
tice,  Lieutenant  Weatherby  was  seriously  wounded,  one  killed 
and  two  wounded. 

I  have  no  doubt  I  can  find  other  letters,  giving  detailed 
accounts  of  the  various  fights  in  which  we  were  engaged.  In  the 
first  day's  fight  at  "Trevillian  Station"  my  squadron  was  kept 
mounted;  the  balance  of  General  Butler's  command  was  dis 
mounted,  the  fourth  man  holding  the  horses;  when  General 
Custer's  brigade  got  around  in  our  rear,  the  horse-holders  became 
frightened  and  turned  the  horses  loose,  when  they  stampeded. 
Just  at  this  time  General  Hampton  came  out  of  a  piece  of  woods, 


188  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

and,  jumping  a  fence,  galloped  up  to  my  command  and  ordered 
me  in  person  to  throw  the  command  in  a  column  of  fours,  charge 
down  the  road  and  attack  the  cavalry  in  our  re^ar,  which  I  did, 
completely  routing  them. 

It  turned  out  that  the  regiment  which  we  struck  with  great 
force  was  commanded  by  Colonel  R.  A.  Alger,  afterwards  gen 
eral,  and  secretary  of  wrar.  General  Alger — whom  I  got  to  know 
quite  well — and  I  have  discussed  this  charge  several  times. 
General  Hampton  also  has  talked  it  over  with  me  many  times, 
and  complimented  me  for  it  on  the  field  at  the  time,  as  is  stated 
by  Mr.  Maynard  in  his  letter  of  July  31st,  1864. 

The  second  charge  I  made  was  under  orders  from  General 
Butler,  and  was  made  through  the  lines  of  General  Sheridan, 
throwing  them  in  confusion,  and  back  to  my  original  position. 
It  was  on  this  charge  Sergeant  Holcome,  who  was  riding  by  my 
side,  was  killed. 

Mr.  Ben  Maynard,  who  wrote  the  enclosed  letters,  was  one  of 
the  most  gallant  soldiers  of  the  war,  and  deserves  special  men 
tion.  General  Butler  knows  of  many  gallant  acts  of  his,  and 
one  particularly,  when  he  called  for  a  volunteer  to  take  a  message 
to  General  Hampton,  Maynard  said  he  would  take  it;  there  was 
a  rain  of  bullets  and  shrapnel,  and  it  did  not  look  as  if  one  could 
live  and  pass  where  Mr.  Maynard  had  to  go.  He  was  at  school 
in  Baltimore  when  the  war  came  on,  ran  away,  came  through  the 
lines  and  joined  my  company  at  Pocotaligo. 

If  you  cannot  get  a  muster  roll  of  my  company  in  Columbia,  I 
will  have  the  one  here  copied  and  sent  to  you. 

Wishing  you  much  success,  I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  C.  C.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

E.  E.  M. 
Enclos. 

ORDER  No.  38. 

Headquarters  Second  Battalion  Cavalry  S.  C.  V.. 

Grahamville,  S.  C.,  May  5,  1862. 

In  pursuance  of  orders  received  from  Colonel  Colquitt,  commanding 
Fourth  and  Fifth  Military  Districts  South  Carolina. 

A  re-organization  of  the  Second  Battalion  of  Cavalry,  S.  C.  V.,  will  take 
place  tomorrow,  the  sixth  inst,  according  to  the  recent  Act  passed  by 
Congress. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  189 

At  each  company  headquarters  an  election  will  be  held  and  a  separate 
poll  will  be  opened  from  11  A.  M.  to  3  P.  M.  for  the  following  officers : 

A  major  to  command  the  battalion,  and  for  each  company  one  captain, 
one  first  lieutenant,  one  second  lieutenant,  one  junior  second  lieutenant. 

The  three  highest  commissioned  officers  in  each  company  will  act  as 
managers  of  the  election.  As  soon  as  the  polls  are  closed  the  managers 
will  count  the  votes  cast  for  the  company  officers,  and  will  forward  a  cer 
tified  statement  of  the  result  of  the  election  to  these  headquarters. 

Immediately  after  counting  the  votes  for  company  officers,  at  least  one 
manager  from  each  company  precinct  will  report  at  headquarters  with  the 
different  boxes  containing  ballots  for  major,  count  the  votes  and  furnish  a 
certified  statement  of  the  result. 

In  accordance  with  the  "Act"  referred  to  above,  only  those  will  be 
entitled  to  vote  in  the  re-organization  who  will  be  permanently  attached 
to  the  battalion. 

No  company  is  allowed  more  than  eighty  men,  rank  and  file. 

By  order  of 

(Signed)     JAMES  P.  ADAMS, 

CAPTAIN  CALHOUN.  Major  Commanding. 


Grahamville,  S.  C.,  May  6,  1862. 

This  is  to  certify  at  an  election  held  for  officers  of  Co.  "B,"  Second  Bat 
talion,  Cavalry  S.  C.  V.,  in  accordance  with  orders  to  re-organize  under 
"Conscription  Act"  of  the  "Confederate  Congress,"  that  the  following  is  the 
result : 

Captain  John  C.  Calhoun  received  all  of  the  votes  polled  at  said  election. 

Larkin  Newton  received  28  votes  for  first  lieutenant. 

T.  D.  Bellotte  received  37  votes  for  first  lieutenant. 

W.  H.  McLeskey  received  1  vote  for  first  lieutenant. 

Aaron  Boggs  received  50  votes  for  second  lieutenant. 

T.  W.  Hunnicitt  received  4  votes  for  second  lieutenant. 

M.  P.  Rogers  received  5  votes  for  second  lieutenant. 

J.  E.  Dodd  received  6  votes  for  second  lieutenant. 

J.  M.  Reid  received  1  vote  for  second  lieutenant. 

J.  M.  Reid  received  44  votes  for  junior  second  lieutenant. 

W.  H.  McLeskey  received  20  votes  for  junior  second  lieutenant. 

T.  D.  Bellotte  received  1  vote  for  junior  second  lieutenant. 

We  therefore  declare  the  following  officers  are  duly  elected : 

John  C.  Calhoun,  captain ;  Thos.  D.  Bellotte,  first  lieutenant ;  Aaron 
Boggs,  second  lieutenant ;  James  M.  Reid,  junior  second  lieutenant. 

(Signed)     JOHN  C.  CALHOUN, 

LIEUTENANT  L.  NEWTON, 
AARON  BOGGS,  Second  Lieut. 

Official  : 

JAMES  P.  ADAMS,  Major  Commanding. 


190  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

DIARY  OF   CAPTAIN  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,  CO.   "C,"   FOURTH   REGI 
MENT  SOUTH  CAROLINA  CAVALRY,  BUTLER'S  BRIGADE, 
HAMPTON'S  DIVISION.       ;   • 

May  4,  1864. — Left  Fort  Hill  for  Columbia  on  way  to  Virginia. 

May  9,  1864. — Left  Columbia  for  Greensboro,  N.  C.,  to  join  regiment. 

May  11,  1864. — Arrived  at  Greensboro,  N.  C.,  and  joined  regiment,  which 
arrived  on  the  12th. 

May  13,  1864. — Regiment  rested  and  remained  over  at  Greensboro. 

May  14,  1864. — Marched  with  regiment  to  "Grahams,"  N.  C.,  22  miles, 
and  halted  for  the  night. 

May  15,  1864. — Marched  with  regiment  to  "Cedar  Grove,"  N.  C.,  20  miles, 
and  halted  for  the  night. 

May  16,  1864.— Marched  with  regiment  to  "Mount  Teroja,"  N.  C.,  22 
miles,  and  halted  for  the  night. 

May  17,  1864.— Marched  with  regiment  to  "Oak  Hill,"  N.  C.,  20  miles, 
and  halted  for  the  night. 

May  18,  1864. — Received  information  of  Colonel  Spears  making  a  raid 
on  the  Danville  Railroad,  and  made  a  forced  march  from  "Oak  Hill," 
N.  C.,  to  Clarksville,  Va.,  twenty  miles,  where  the  regiment  remained  for 
the  night  awaiting  information. 

May  19,  1864. — Hearing  of  Colonel  Spears  making  his  way  towards 
"Roanoke  Station,"  on  Danville  Railroad,  made  forced  march  to  Roanoke 
Station,  30  miles,  and  halted  for  the  night. 

May  20,  1864.— Hearing  Colonel  Spears  had  returned  to  his  lines,  took 
the  most  direct  road  to  Richmond  and  marched  to  "Keysville,"  Va.,  22 
miles,  where  the  regiment  halted  for  the  night. 

May  21,  1864. — Marched  with  regiment  to  "Burkville,"  Va.,  23  miles,  and 
halted  for  the  night. 

May  22,  1864. — Marched  with  regiment  to  "Amelia,"  C.-H.,  Va.,  23  miles, 
and  halted  for  the  night. 

May  23,  1864. — Having  been  taken  sick  at  "Greensboro,"  N.  C.,  and  grad 
ually  getting  worse  until  now  am  too  unwell  to  travel  with  regiment,  con 
sequently  take  the  cars  for  "Richmond."  Remained  in  bed  in  Richmond 
from  the  evening  of  the  23d  until  the  1st  June,  1864.  Disease,  chill  and 
fever. 

June  1,  1864. — Hearing  of  the  engagements  of  the  28  May  at  "Hawes 
Shops,"  and  the  29th  near  "Cold  Harbor,"  and  the  30th  at  "Cold  Harbor," 
and  the  heavy  loss  of  my  company,  got  up  out  of  bed  and  joined  my  com 
pany  and  regiment  near  "Cold  Harbor"  on  the  march  towards  "Bottom's 
Bridge."  Regiment  halted  for  the  night  about  8  miles  from  Bottom's 
Bridge. 

June  2,  1864. — Early  in  the  morning  marched  with  regiment  to  "Bottom's 
Bridge"  and  took  position  to  repel  the  enemy  from  crossing  the  Chicka- 
honiiny  River.  Slight  skirmishing  in  the  evening;  only  the  Sixth  S.  C. 
Cavalry  engaged;  the  Fourth  held  as  reserve.  Fell  back  two  miles  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  191 

camp  for  the  night.  Brigade  left  on  duty  at  "Bottom's  Bridge"  for  the 
night. 

June  3,  1864.— Marched  down  to  "Bottom's  Bridge"  again  early;  after 
taking  position  and  remaining  a  short  time  the  regiment  was  ordered  back 
to  camp,  except  my  squadron,  which  was  ordered  to  take  up  the  picket  line 
of  "White  Oak  Swamp,"  and  I  placed  in  command  of  outposts.  After  going 
around  and  placing  the  pickets  (about  40  miles)  returned  to  headquarters' 
outpost  about  10  o'clock. 

June  4,  1864. — Visited  the  line  of  pickets  in  the  morning,  relieved  by 
Captain  Goodwin,  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  about  11  o'clock  at  night,  and 
inarched  back  with  squadron  to  "Savage  Station"  on  York  River  Railroad, 
where  the  regiment  was  arriving  just  before  daylight ;  raining  hard. 

June  5,  1864. — The  whole  brigade  moved  camp  to  "White  Oak  Swamp" 
on  "Bottom's  Bridge"  and  "Charles  City"  road,  about  nine  miles  from  "Sav 
age  Station."  Remained  in  said  camp  until  the  8th. 

June  8,  1864. — The  whole  brigade  marched  from  "White  Oak  Swamp"  to 
"Mechanicsville,"  about  27  miles,  and  halted  for  the  night. 

June  0,  1864. — All  the  effective  men  of  the  brigade  started  from  "Mechan 
icsville"  on  an  expedition  after  General  Sheridan,  who  was  going  to  the 
relief  of  General  Hunter  in  the  valley  with  10,000  cavalry  and  several  bat 
teries  of  artillery.  The  entire  command  of  the  expedition  rested  on  Gen 
eral  Hampton,  whose  force  consisted  of  about  6,000  cavalry  and  two  bat 
teries  of  artillery.  The  brigade  marched  about  30  miles  on  the  road 
towards  "Gordonsville,"  bearing  into  the  "North  Anna"  River  and  halted  to 
feed ;  after  resting  about  three  hours,  again  took  up  the  line  of  march  and 
reached  "Louisa"  C.-H.  on  the  10th  about  mid-day.  Passing  on  about  three 
miles  the  brigade  halted  to  graze,  when  we  heard  of  the  near  approach  of 
the  enemy.  The  brigade  went  on  then  nearly  to  "Trevillian  Station"  and 
halted  for  the  night. 

June  11,  1864. — Our  brigade  was  engaged  today  in  one  of  the  hardest 
fights  which  has  occurred  in  Virginia.  I  and  my  command  were  steadily 
under  fire  from  7  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  2  :30  P.  M.  I  made  two  mounted 
charges  with  my  "squadron,"  in  the  first  of  which  I  charged  through  the 
enemies'  line  of  skirmishers,  throwing  them  in  great  confusion;  went  some 
two  hundred  yards  to  the  rear  of  their  line  and  drove  off  a  squadron  of 
their  cavalry  and  charged  back  through  their  lines,  and  occupied  my  origi 
nal  position.  In  the  second  charge  I  only  had  65  men  in  my  squadron,  the 
remainder  having  been  detailed  off,  and  with  them  I  charged,  under  the  eye 
of  the  commanding  general,  two  regiments  of  the  enemy,  hi  botli  of  these 
charges  I  teas  complimented.  The  loss  of  my  squadron  in  these  charges 
was  23. 

June  12,  1864. — Notwithstanding  being  very  unwell  and  much  worn  out 
from  previous  illness,  and  having  eaten  nothing  for  two  days,  I  attempted 
to  lead  my  command  into  action,  when  the  enemy  made  a  furious  assault 
on  our  lines  about  4  o'clock  P.  M.,  but  having  double-quicked  about  50 
yards,  I  fainted  and  had  to  retire. 


192  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

June  13,  1864. — The  enemy  being  completely  beaten  and  routed,  and  I 
feeling  a  little  rested,  having  slept  in  a  house  nearby,  joined  my  command 
and  followed  in  pursuit  of  the  fast  retreating  foe.  Marched  all  night. 

June  14,  1864. — Continued  in  pursuit  and  halted  for  the  night,  after 
crossing  "North  Anna"  River. 

June  15,  1864. — Continued  in  pursuit,  and  after  a  hard  day's  march  halted 
for  the  night  in  Caroline  County,  near  the  Telegraph  Road. 

June  16,  1864. — Continued  in  pursuit,  and  after  a  very  hard  day's  march, 
halted  about  11  o'clock  at  night  on  the  "Mattapony"  River. 

June  17,  1864. — Continued  in  pursuit,  but  followed  down  the  "Mattapony" 
River  rather  to  watch  the  fords  and  bridges.  Encamped  in  a  very  fine 
clover  field  near  a  handsome  little  cottage  on  the  river.  The  enemy  about 
four  miles  on  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

.June  18,  1864. — Changed  our  direction  for  the  "White  House"  and 
marched  to  the  Pamunkey  River ;  crossed  at  Wickham's  ford  and  halted 
for  the  night ;  I  in  command  of  regiment. 

June  19,  1864. — Made  a  severe  march  and  halted  about  5  hours,  at  10 
P.  M.,  in  a  clover  field,  about  seven  miles  from  White  House. 

June  20,  1864. — Took  up  the  line  of  march  about  3  o'clock  A.  M.  for 
"White  House;"  encountered  the  enemy's  pickets  about  daylight  and  cap 
tured  them.  The  command  being  dismounted  to  fight,  I  was  placed,  by 
General  Butler,  in  command  of  the  horses.  At  night  the  whole  brigade 
retired  three  miles  to  graze  the  horses. 

June  21,  1864. — The  command  advanced  again,  and,  our  brigade  being 
dismounted,  drove  the  enemy  to  their  gunboats.  I  went  with  the  regiment 
as  long  as  I  could  walk,  being  very  unwell  and  weak,  when  I  volunteered 
on  Colonel  Funstain's  staff  (commanding  the  brigade),  and  acted  during 
the  remainder  of  the  day  with  him.  In  the  evening  late  we  took  up  the 
line  of  march  to  Bottom's  Bridge,  and,  after  marching  almost  all  night, 
arrived  there  just  before  daylight. 

June  22,  1864. — Being  now  quite  seriously  ill,  I  leave  camp,  under  orders 
from  the  surgeon,  for  a  hospital,  and  arrive  in  Richmond  about  dark. 

June  23,  1864. — I  leave  for  the  "Hugenot  Springs  Hospital"  and  arrive  on 
the  morning  of  the  24th,  and  remained  at  the  Hugenot  Springs  Hospital 
sick  until  14th  July,  1864. 

July  14,  1864. — Leave  Hugenot  Springs  Hospital  for  camp  at  Stoney 
Creek  Station,"  on  W.  &  P.  R.  R.  Stop  for  the  night  at  Mrs.  Cock's,  18 
miles. 

July  15,  1864. — Lost  the  road.  Stopped  for  the  night  at  Dr.  Boisseau's, 
30  miles. 

July  10,  1864. — Reached  camp  at  Major  Malone's  farm,  18  miles. 

July  17th,  18th,  19th,  20th,  21st,  22d,  23d,  24th,  2.5th,  26th,  27th,  28th, 
29th,  30th,  31st,  August  1st,  2d,  and  3d  remained  in  camp  on  -  — . 

Had  some  severe  skirmishes  with  enemy. 

August  4,  1864. — Removed  camp  nearer  the  railroad.  Remained  in  this 
camp  until  llth. 

August  11,  1864. — Stopped  for  the  night  on  Swift  Run,  17  miles. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  193 

August  12,  1864. — Stopped  for  the  night  at  "Manchester,"  16  miles. 

August  13,  1864. — Stopped  for  the  night  at  "South  Anna,"  24  miles. 

August  14,  1864. — Halted  for  the  night  at  "North  Anna,"  14  miles. 

August  15,  1864. — Having  received  orders  to  return  to  Richmond  as  soon 
as  possible,  made  a  forced  march  back  to  "Ashland."  The  night  of  the 
15th  marched  to  "Chickahomicy." 

August  16,  1864. — Marched  via  Richmond  to  "Deep  Bottom,"  and  from 
there  to  "Savage  Station"  on  York  R.  R.,  where  we  halted  for  the  night. 

August  17,  1864. — Rested  in  camp. 

August  18,  1864. — Remained  in  line  of  battle  from  daylight  until  about 
4  o'clock,  when  we  attacked  the  enemy  at  "White  Oak  Swamp"  and  de 
feated  them. 

August  19,  1864. — Moved  camp  to  near  "White's  Tavern." 

August  20,  1864. — Remained  in  camp. 

August  21,  1864. — Regiment  crossed  to  South-Side;  I  being  too  unwell  to 
march,  was  sent  by  surgeon  to  hospital  in  Richmond. 

August  22,  1864. — Entered  General  Hospital  No.  4,  Richmond;  remained 
in  General  Hospital  No.  4  until  28th. 

August  28,  1864.— Went  to  Hugenot  Springs  Hospital. 


CASUALTIES  OF  COMPANY  "C,"  FOURTH  SOUTH  CAROLINA 
CAVALRY,  IN  BATTLE. 

BATTLE  OF  HAWES  SHOP  SATURDAY,  MAY  28,  1864. 

Lieutenant  T.  D.  Bellotte,  severely  wounded  and  missing. 

Corporal  Moore,  wounded  and  missing. 

S.  A.  Bellotte,  slight  wound  in  elbow,  not  missing. 

Z.  D.  Bellotte,  mortal  wound  in  body  and  missing. 

A.  Collins,  wounded  and  missing. 

A.  Day,  dead  and  missing. 
N.  Day,  dead  and  missing. 
J.  T.  Day,  missing. 

C.  M.  Faut,  wounded  and  missing. 

J.  Henderson,  one  finger  off;  not  missing. 

W.  C.  Kirkey,  serious  wound  in  thigh ;  not  missing. 

William  Lee,  wounded  and  missing. 

B.  Mirk,  missing. 

W.  H.  McDonald,  flesh  wound  in  head ;  not  missing. 

C.  Smith,  missing. 

HEAVY  SKIRMISH  FIGHT  SUNDAY,  MAY  29,  1864 

John  Glenn,  wounded,  slight;  not  missing. 

D.  N.  Halcourt,  very  slight  wound;  not  missing. 

S.  N.  Price,  slight  wound  in  right  arm ;  not  missing. 

13— B.  C. 


194  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

I  submit  this  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  people  that  may  come  to  Uncle 
Andrew  for  information,  the  friends  and  relatives  of  those  mentioned. 

The  cases  of  some  are  not  known.     I  put  a  dash  after  the  name  and 
write  missing.  ;  ;tr  ; 

The  casualties  of  the  regiment  are  180  in  all  since  we  have  been  fighting. 

I  would  write  more  but  I  have  been  Quite  unwell  today.     Let  me  hear 
from  you  often. 

Love  to  all  of  my  dear  relatives  and  friends. 

Ever  your  most  devoted  cousin, 

(Signed)     B.  G.  MAYNARD. 


Headquarters  Butler's  Cavalry  Brigade, 
*  Near  Reams  Station,  July  14,  1864. 

Dearest  Cousin:  For  many  unavoidable  reasons  I  have  failed  to  write 
to  one  whom  I  love  very  much,  but,  though  leading  at  present  a  very  active 
life,  I  steal  time  enough  to  express  my  attachment  and  love  for  you. 

I  am  now  perfectly  inured  to  the  hardships  of  a  Virginia  soldier,  and 
can  stand  anything,  it  seems  to  me,  in  the  way  of  exposure  and  fatigue, 
as  I  was  thoroughly  tested  on  the  raid  in  pursuit  of  Sheridan,  on  which 
raid  I  broke  my  white  horse  down,  but  was  furnished  with  another  one  by 
Uncle  John  Maynard. 

I  presume  you  saw  by  the  papers  what  a  successful  expedition  it  proved, 
terminating  in  the  utter  defeat  and  disorganization  of  his  whole  force,  so 
much  so  that  whenever  we  confront  him  now  he  falls  back  as  if  in 
unbounded  honor  of  our  brave  boys.  In  1he  fioht  at  "Trevillian  Station" 
Captain  Calhoun  led  two  very  gallant  charges,  which  reflected  such  a 
lustre  upon  his  military  capacities  that  he  was  complimented  on  the  field 
by  General  Hampton. 

I  have  been  detailed  as  courier  to  General  Butler,  and  am  very  well 
pleased,  as  both  my  horse  and  myself  get  plenty  to  eat,  and  as  I  desire  to 
be  absent  from  the  company  in  Captain  Calhoun's  absence  for  many  reasons, 
which  I  will  not  trouble  you  to  explain.  The  captain  is  now  at  the  hospital 
near  Richmond,  "Hugenot  Springs,"  where  he  is  improving  and  expects  to 
return  to  the  company  in  a  day  pr  two. 

I  will  reveal  to  you  several  small  items  of  news  which  may  prove  inter 
esting,  viz :  A  scout  who  has  just  returned  from  the  rear  of  the  enemy's 
lines  reports  officially  that  the  Sixth  army  corps  from  Grant's  army  has 
been  ordered  towards  Washington,  as  Early's  movements  have  caused  great 
uneasiness  in  the  Federal  ranks.  Report  from  scouts  also  affirm  that 
Sheridan,  with  his  artillery  wagons  and  his  whole  command,  were  moving 
towards  Weldon,  but  they  encountered  General  Fitz  Lee's  command,  and, 
after  a  sharp  picket  engagement,  retired. 

I  hope  that  Uncle  Andrew  got  the  letter  I  sent  him  by  Miss  Crawford. 

Write  soon  and  direct  your  letter  as  usual,  as  the  Petersburg  railroad  is 
opened  again. 

Love  to  all,  and  much  to  you,  dearest  cousin. 

Your  most  affectionate  cousin, 

(Signed)     R.   G.  MAYNARD. 

To  Miss  M.  M.  Calhoun,  Fort  Hill. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  195 

Maloan's  Farm,  July  23,  1864. 

Mr.  Editor:  In  the  correspondence  of  "N."  in  your  recent  issue  of  the 
13th  inst.,  relating  to  the  fight  "at  Trevillian's  Station  under  Generals 
Hampton  and  Butler,  whose  forces  were  engaged  and  sustained  the  blunt 
of  the  onslaught,"  errors  are  very  apt  to  occur  where  there  is  a  more  or 
less  degree  of  excitement,  must  be  admitted.  With  all  due  deference  to  the 
brave  and  able  generals  for  the  stragetic  and  judicious  manoeuvreing  of 
their  .forces  on  that  occasion,  yet  there  is  a  slight  mistake  in  the  accounts 
given  as  regards  the  charge  that  was  made  "by  only  three  companies"  and 
by  General  Hampton  in  person  against  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Yankee 
forces,  when  separated  and  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  his  command,  "two 
thousand  of  the  enemy  occupying  one  portion  of  the  road  and  over  four 
thousand  on  the  other."  The  charge  was  made  by  Captain  John  C.  Cal- 
houn,  Co.  "C,"  Fourth  Regiment  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  Butler's  Brigade, 
and  not,  as  stated  by  the  correspondent,  to  be  "by  General  Hampton  in 
person." 

"Credit  should  be  given  to  whom  credit  is  due."  Therefore  I  beg  leave 
to  call  your  attention  to  it  and  request  the  correction  of  that  portion  of 
"N's"  correspondence.  By  so  doing  you  will  oblige  the  author  of  this,  who 
was  present  and  an  eye-witness  to  the  charge  when  made. 

(Signed)     M. 

NOTE. — The  above  is  an  extract  taken  from  the  Daily  Southern  Guardian, 
published  in  Columbia,  S.  C.,  dated  August  2,  1864. 

(General  Hampton  made  the  charge  with  the  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cav 
alry,  and  not  the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  llth  June,  1864,  at 
Trevillian.  General  Hampton  emptied  two  saddles  with  his  own  pistol  and 
Lieutenant  John  Bauskett  killed  the  Yank  who  was  about  to  kill  the  gallant 
W.  Gilmore  Simms,  of  Co.  F,  cadet  Company  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry, 
who  was  promoted  for  gallantry. — U.  R.  BROOKS.) 


Camp  Near  Reams  Station,  Oct.  7,  1864. 

My  Dear  Cousin :  As  this  is  the  first  opportunity  which  has  presented 
itself  since  my  arrival  in  camp  to  write  you  a  few  words  expressive  of  my 
love,  etc.,  I  with  great  pleasure  avail  myself  of  it. 

After  three  days  very  pleasantly  spent  in  Richmond  I  started  (Septem 
ber  24th)  for  my  command,  and  found  it  encamped  on  the  Plank  Road  not 
far  from  the  Weldon  R.  R.  I  reported  to  General  Butler,  as  he  directed 
me,  and  as  he  had  over  his  full  quota,  he  ordered  me  back  to  my  company, 
much  to  my  satisfaction,  the  next  day.  I  reported  to  Lieutenant  Dickson 
for  duty  the  26th,  and  on  the  28th  was  detailed  for  picket,  and  before  we 
were  relieved  the  enemy  made  a  demonstration  on  our  lines,  driving  in  the 
pickets  and  dashing  on  towards  the  South-Side  Railroad.  Colonel  Jeffords, 
who  commanded  the  picket  detail  from  our  brigade,  after  gathering  us 
together,  started  off  to  check,  if  possible,  their  advance,  but  later  in  the  day, 


196  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

having  ascertained  that  they  were  in  strong  force,  "both  infantry  and 
cavalry,"  he  dispatched  a  courier  to  General  Dunovant  requesting  that  he 
bring  his  brigade  to  the  front  and  giving  all  the  information  that  he  had 
received  during  the  day.  Accordingly  he  advanced  within  a  mile  or  two 
of  the  vidette  line,  and  after  a  long  conversation  the  general  instructed 
Colonel  "J."  to  move  with  the  picket  detail  under  his  charge  up  to  the 
point  that  our  reserve  post  had  been  before  the  enemy  advanced.  He 
obeyed,  moving  cautiously  by  a  blind  road  to  the  position  named,  and  found 
no  enemy  up  to  that  point,  but  just  as  we  halted  General  Pryor,  "the  noted 
scout,"  dashed  up  and  informed  him  that  the  enemy  was  drawn  up  in  line 
of  battle  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Squirrel  Level  Road,  their  right  resting 
immediately  in  his  front,  and  after  an  investigation  he  came  back  and 
directed  me  to  go,  with  all  possible  speed,  to  the  general  and  inform  him 
that  the  enemy  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  on  the  Squirrel  Level  Road, 
"infantry  in  the  rear  and  cavalry  in  the  front,"  and  that  the  line  extended 
for  a  mile  parallel  with  the  road.  I  dashed  off  and  met  the  general 
advancing,  delivered  the  message  and  walked  on  back  with  the  column.  On 
the  way  General  Butler  met  us,  and,  after  receiving  all  the  particulars 
regarding  the  day's  transactions,  he  remarked  with  emphasis,  "Advance  the 
column,  general,  we  will  attack  them."  And  taking  the  lead  himself  he 
moved  off  in  a  gallop. 

A  few  minutes  after  and  nothing  could  be  heard  but  the  booming  of 
cannon  and  the  roar  of  musketry.  Everything  was  progressing  favorably 
when  a  large  buck,  emerging  from  a  thicket  before  us,  bounded  across  the 
field,  having  been  driven  from  his  hiding  place  by  our  skirmish  line,  which 
was  advancing.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight  at  any  time,  but  the  diversion  in 
the  hour  of  battle  was  indeed  pleasant.  The  fight  lasted  until  dark,  when 
we  retired,  the  enemy  having  been  well  paid  for  their  boldness. 

The  next  day  we  marched  and  counter-marched,  and  at  night  about  9 
o'clock  we  were  blown  to  horse  and  started,  as  we  supposed,  to  flank  the 
enemy,  but  to  our  surprise  we  went  on  until  a  report,  as  of  about  twenty 
(20)  guns,  was  heard,  and  the  column  came  to  a  dead  halt  and  in  a  few 
minutes  we  were  retracing  our  steps.  Upon  ascertaining  what  caused  the 
disturbance  it  proved  that  the  enemy  had  picketed  twenty  (20)  or  thirty 
(30)  men  on  the  road  that  we  were  moving  up,  and  upon  the  approach 
of  the  column  we  were  ordered  to  halt  and  Captain  Butler,  by  order  of  the 
general,  dismounted  and  approached  on  foot  to  give  the  password  when,  to 
his  surprise,  he  was  captured  and  hurried  to  the  rear.  They  then  fired 
on  the  head  of  the  column  and  retired  in  great  confusion,  by  doing  which 
three  of  them  were  shot  by  their  own  side.  A  darker  night  never  passed 
over  my  head.  You  could  not  see  your  hand  before  you.  I  ran  my  horse 
into  a  tree  two  or  three  times.  It  started  to  rain  about  midnight,  and  at 
daybreak  we  started  again  for  the  field  of  action,  to  witness  the  most 
severe  fight  that  I  have  ever  been  in.  It  was  now  raining  quite  heavily, 
and  we  were  getting  ourselves  and  guns  quite  wet  when  the  command  was 
given  to  dismount  to  fight.  "Action  front,  deploy  as  skirmishers  on  the 
right  and  left — forward,"  and  we  moved  onward  to  the  fight,  death  or  vie- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  197 

tory  our  only  resolve.  We  were  halted  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  in  an  open 
field,  with  no  shelter  from  those  deadly  missiles  of  war  but  the  hand  of 
God  and  the  canopy  of  heaven.  We  were  all  waiting  for  the  enemy,  with 
our  fingers  upon  the  trigger,  when  the  Yanks  opened  fire  on  our  left  flank. 
We  were  all  down  in  a  minute  stretched  at  full  length  on  the  ground,  and 
after  exchanging  several  volleys  with  them,  we  had  to  fall  back,  the  enemy 
having  flanked  us. 

Mr.  Davis,  a  very  fine  gentleman,  and  a  member  of  the  dragoons,  was 
killed  dead  by  the  first  volley.  We  fell  back  and  then  took  our  position  on 
the  left  of  our  line,  where  we  fought  them  until  2  o'clock,  when  General 
W.  H.  F.  Lee's  division,  having  gone  round  with  the  intention  of  flanking 
the  enemy,  dashed  up  to  our  assistance,  but  having  taken  a  wrong  road, 
charged  up  in  our  rear  instead  of  the  Yankees',  but  caused  them  to  fall 
back.  We  no  sooner  saw  them  retreating  than  we  moved  up  forward  from 
our  breastworks  with  a  yell  and  drove  them  until  they  got  shelter  from 
their  entrenchments,  being  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile.  Our  line  being 
regularly  formed,  we  moved  on  until  a  portion  of  the  line  faltered,  when 
General  Dunovant  rode  to  the  front  of  the  line  and  in  a  clear  and  distinct 
voice  ordered  the  men  to  follow  him,  and  while  cheering  them  on  was  shot 
through  the  head  and  fell  from  his  horse  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  Liberty 
and  Independence.  But  Colonel  Stokes,  who  was  next  in  command,  stepped 
into  his  boots  (to  use  a  vulgar  expression)  and  nobly  led  them  on  to  the 
charge. 

We  were  then  facing  the  enemy's  breastworks,  and  such  a  storm  of  shot 
and  shell  was  never  heard  of.  The  shells  cut  the  tops  of  large  pine  trees 
off  by  the  dozens.  It  seemed  to  me  impossible  for  man  to  escape  without 
being  covered  with  bullet  holes,  but  Providence  provides  for  us  all.  We 
retired  at  dark  with  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  enemy's  ground  in 
our  possession. 

The  first  fight  took  place  on  the  29th  of  September,  and  the  last  and 
large  fight  on  the  1st  of  October.  What  made  our  last  fight  on  the  Vaun 
road  so  bad  was  that  it  rained  heavily  all  day,  and  we  were  soaked  to  the 
skin  during  the  whole  fight  and  shivering  all  the  time  with  cold.  After  the 
fight  was  over  we  had  to  walk  a  mile  through  mud  and  water,  sometimes 
up  to  our  knees,  to  get  to  our  lead  horses. 

I  consider  the  man  who  escaped  that  fight  lucky,  for  it  was  enough  to 
kill  any  one,  though  it  gave  me  nothing  but  a  slight  cold  in  the  head. 

During  the  second  charge  one  of  my  most  intimate  friends  in  the 
dragoons  was  wounded,  the  doctors  say  mortally,  though  I  hope  not.  Ben 
Bostick  is  his  name.  I  carried  him  off  the  field. 

If  I  have  taxed  your  patience  by  continuing  too  long  on  one  subject  it  is 
because  this  is  the  subject  uppermost  in  my  mind,  and  because  I  thought 
an  account  from  one  who  participated  in  the  fights  would  prove  more  inter 
esting  than  a  newspaper  account. 

From  the  1st  until  yesterday  we  were  at  the  front,  expecting  an  advance 
from  the  enemy,  cut  off  from  all  writing  material,  clothing  and  the  like,  so 


198  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

you  see  I   have  taken  the  first  opportunity  that   has  presented   itself  to 
perform  the  pleasant  task  of  writing  to  you. 

I  wrote  to  the  captain  the  first  day  I  got  to  camp  but  have  not  hud  a 
word  from  him.  He  is  wanted  very  much  in  camp,  as  tilings  are  not  going 
right  in  his  company. 

We  are  wanting  officers  shamefully  in  the  regiment,  as  there  are  but  two 
lieutenants  for  duty  and  two  captains.  To  give  you  an  idea  of  the  scarcity 
of  officers,  Lieutenant  Dickson  has  been  acting  major.  The  captain  I  expect 
though  every  day,  for  he  said  in  his  last  letter  to  Lieutenant  Dickson  that 
he  was  improving  and  expected  to  return  soon. 

I  have  my  white  horse  with  me  now  and  he  is  in  excellent  condition. 
He  was  appraised  at  $2,500  the  other  day,  more  than  I  thought  he  would 
bring  by  $500. 

1  am  writing  this  letter  under  a  very  nice  canvass  fly  tent,  which  has 
been  issued  by  the  brigade,  one  to  every  two  men. 

Tom  is  one  of  the  coolest  men  under  fire  I  ever  saw,  and  is  a  splendid 
soldier  in  every  respect.  Lieutenant  Dickson  says  he  is  the  best  man  in 
the  company.  In  the  fight  of  the  1st  of  October  Tom  was  twenty  yards 
nearer  the  enemy's  breastworks  than  any  man  in  the  brigade,  excepting  Mr. 
Thurston.  They  were  together  in  the  engagement.  Mr.  Thurston  is  well 
and  stands  the  campaign  better  than  I  thought  he  would. 

I  want  you  to  prove  a  better  correspondent  than  you  have  done,  and  I 
will  do  the  same.  It  gives  me  more  pleasure  than  you  can  imagine  to 
receive  letters  from  you. 

Give  much  love  to  Uncle  Andrew  and  Aunt  "M."  and  to  the  boys.  Little 
Lula,  of  course,  must  not  be  forgotten. 

Remember  me  to  grandfather  and  my  other  aunts  if  they  still  remain  at 
Fort  Hill.  Tell  old  Cristy  I  have  wished  for  some  of  her  cakes  and  waffles 
many  times. 

Receive,  dear  cousin,  for  yourself  that  affection  and  love  which  you 
know  I  always  bear  towards  you. 

Your  most  devoted  cousin, 

(Signed)     B.  G.  MAYNARD. 

Wilson  is  well  and  parching  coffee  for  my  supper  now  in  front  of  the 
tent. 

I  will  write  in  a  day  or  two  to  Aunt  Margaret.  Write  long  letters  and 
plenty  of  them,  like  mine  today.  B.  (5.  M. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  199 


A  DARING  YANKEE  SPY 

Office  of  105th  Company,  C.  A.  C., 
Presidio  of  San  Francisco,  Cal., 

January  the  20th,  1908. 
Captain  Geo.  D.  Shadbume,  City. 

My  Dear  Captain:  I  am  enclosing  you  two  copies  of  letters 
which  father  forwarded  to  me,  and  which  he  thought  you  might 
be  interested  in,  and  requested  me  to  show  them  to  you. 

I  should  have  delivered  them  personally,  but  it  seems  almost 
an  impossibility  to  leave  the  barracks,  let  alone  leaving  the 
reservation,  as  I  am  very  busy  making  out  my  notes  for  my  study 
ing  at  home.  There  now  remains  but  sixteen  days  of  the  three- 
year  period  of  enlistment  which  I  gave  my  oath  to  serve,  and  I 
am  very  happy  in  the  anticipation  of  my  home-going. 

If  the  letters  are  not  in  your  way,  will  you  please  pigeonhole 
them  until  I  can  call  and  get  them,  as  father  wished  me  to  send 
them  on  to  my  uncle  in  Chico  (the  gentleman  whom  I  brought 
with  me  for  a  call  last  May). 

Trusting  that  yourself  and  Mrs.  Shadburne,  and  also  those 
dear  little  ones,  are  enjoying  the  best  of  health,  I  beg  to  remain, 

Very  sincerely, 

MORTIMER  B.  BIRDSEYE,  JR. 
Sergt.  105th  Co.,  C.  A.  C. 


Department  of  Justice. 
Washington,  December  4th,  1908. 
Colonel  M.  B.  Birdseye. 

Dear  Sir:  Your  letter  received.  Yes,  I  was  captured  by  the 
Harris  Light  Cavalry  (N.  Y.)  about  July  20th,  1862,  at  Beaver 
Dam  Station,  on  what  is  now  the  C.  &  C.  Railroad.  Colonel 
Mansfield  Davies  was  the  colonel  in  command.  Kilpatrick  was 
also  there  as  lieutenant-colonel.  I  was  sitting  in  the  depot  when 
the  regiment  rode  up.  They  gave  me  no  notice  that  they  were 
going.  They  carried  me  back  to  Fredericksburg ;  thence  I  was 
taken  to  Washington  and  was  exchanged  in  ten  days.  I  have 


200  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

met  General  Da  vies  and  Ben  Kilpatrick  since  the  war.  You  will 
see  an  account  of  my  capture  in  the  history  of  your  regiment.  I 
was  not  then  a  commander,  but  was  serving  at.  General  Stuart's 
headquarters.  I  had  a  letter  from  Stuart  to  General  Jackson. 
You  can  find  the  letter  in  a  supplementary  volume  of  the  War 
Records.  I  am  now  writing  an  account  of  this  affair,  and  shall 
publish  it  in  some  magazine. 

Very  truly, 

(Signed)     JNO.  S.  MOSBY. 

Port  Chester,  N.  Y.,  November  1,  1908. 
Col.  M.  B.  Birdseye,  Fayetteville,  N.  Y. 

Dear  Colonel :  According  to  promise,  I  send  you  the  statement 
of  Thaddeus  J.  Walker,  word  for  word,  as  he  wrote  it  to  me. 

I  will  first  give  you  an  account  of  Mr.  Walker.  He  was  born 
near  Petersburg,  Va.,  July  15th,  1847;  enlisted  in  Confederate 
Army,  March  7th,  1862,  and  served  in  the  President's  Guard 
around  Richmond  about  one  year;  was  then  transferred  to  the 
Second  Maryland  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Major  Harry  Gilmor, 
and  served  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  until  captured  by  the 
"Pennsylvania  Bucktails,"  May  26th,  1864;  was  taken  to  Point 
Lookout  and  held  prisoner  eight  months  and  then  paroled.  Since 
the  war  he  has  resided  in  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Yours  truly, 

EDWIN  CHURCH. 


Walker's  Statement 

Sometime  early  in  the  year  1864 — January,  as  I  remember — 
while  on  picket  duty  near  Winchester,  Va.,  the  first  incident  of 
my  story  occurred.  I  was  standing  in  a  clump  of  trees  and 
bushes  near  the  bank  of  the  Opequan  Creek,  beside  my  horse, 
carbine  in  readiness  for  any  alarm,  when  I  heard  a  faint  "Hello" 
from  another  clump  of  bushes  not  far  distant  in  my  front.  I 
was  at  once  on  the  qui  vive  for  business.  It  was  a  clear,  cold 
morning,  and  as  I  listened  intently,  watching  closely  the  bushes 
in  front  of  me  about  a  hundred  yards,  where  we  knew  the  Yankee 
pickets  were  stationed,  again  came  the  hello,  and  cautiously 
from  under  the  shadow  of  the  trees  came  three  men — seemingly 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  201 

without  arms — dressed  in  what  afterwards  proved  to  be  a  mixed 
uniform  of  blue  and  gray.  Seeing  them  waving  a  white  rag,  I 
ordered  them  to  come  forward,  one  at  a  time.  After  a  short  talk 
with  them  I  found  them  to  be  from  the  Union  cavalry,  who 
stated  they  were  tired  of  the  war,  fighting  for  negroes,  etc.,  and 
wished  to  be  sent  to  Richmond. 

I  was  much  taken  with  the  spokesman  of  the  party,  who  was  a 
good-looking  and  very  intelligent  young  man,  about  twenty-two 
or  three  years  of  age,  with  bright  eyes  and  face.  I  finally  took 
them  back  to  the  headquarters  and  turned  them  over  to  Major 
Gilmor,  of  the  Second  Maryland  Cavalry.  He  questioned  them 
closely,  and  finally  ordered  me  to  take  them  up  the  valley  to 
Staunton  and  turn  them  over  to  the  provost  marshal,  J.  Q.  C. 
Naidenbush. 

Just  at  that  time  I  was  expecting  a  short  furlough  or  "horse 
detail."  I  obtained  it  and  started  for  Hanover  County,  Virginia, 
near  Old  Church,  about  sixteen  miles  from  Richmond,  with  the 
three  prisoners  in  my  charge.  We  were  soon  on  our  way  next 
morning,  after  an  early  and  not  very  elaborate  menu  of  rancid 
bacon  and  corn  pone,  with  coffee  made  from  roasted  acorns  (don't 
smile;  this  was  a  good  breakfast  compared  to  some  we  had).  We 
were  soon  off,  the  stage  rattling  up  the  pike  containing  at  least 
two  hearts  filled  with  buoyancy,  for  my  companion  (as  I  had 
learned  to  call  the  spokesman  formerly  alluded  to)  was  an  exceed 
ingly  congenial  and  companionable  fellow,  who,  by  his  engaging 
manner  and  his  pleasant  conversational  powers  soon  ingratiated 
himself  into  my  good  opinion,  and  we  felt  as  if  we  were  old  college 
chums  who  had  met  again  after  a  long  separation.  How  little 
did  I  think  that  my  congenial  companion  was  one  of  the  most 
famous  and  daring  young  cavalry  officers  of  the  Union  Army, 
who  was  in  our  lines  on  one  of  the  most  dangerous  and  hazardous 
errands  a  soldier  could  be  engaged  in.  But  to  my  story :  Arriving 
at  Staunton,  I  proceeded  direct  to  the  headquarters  of  the  provost 
marshal,  Colonel  Naidenbush,  who  paroled  them,  under  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Confederate  States,  I  think.  Upon  this  point  I 
will  not  be  positive,  yet  it  seems  to  me  that  must  have  been  the 
only  means  by  which  they  could  be  released  to  go  where  they 
choose.  After  a  few  hours  in  Staunton,  spent  in  making  ourselves 
more  presentable  in  the  way  of  clothing,  etc.,  my  companion  and 


202  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

myself  bade  good-bye  to  the  other  two  men,  who  remained  in 
Staunton,  and  we  were  soon  on  a  train  bound  for  Richmond.  I 
intending  to  remain  there  over  night  and  go  out  to  my  home  on 
the  Topopotomoy  Creek,  in  Hanover  County  the  next  morning. 

To  shorten  my  story,  my  companion  accompanied  me  to  my 
home.  I  had  formed  such  an  attachment  for  him  that  I  felt  loath 
to  part  with  him,  and  I  extended  the  invitation,  which  was  at 
once  accepted.  We  reached  home  the  next  morning,  and  I  feel 
sure  that  he  never  forgot  the  cordial  and  homelike  reception 
accorded  him  in  that  old  Virginia  farmhouse.  Lieutenant 
Murray  (his  assumed  name)  soon  endeared  himself  to  all  of  us — 
father,  mother  and  three  brothers — as  he  had  already  to  myself, 
and  joined  heartily  in  the  sociabilities  of  the  neighborhood, 
visiting  with  me  wherever  I  went,  and  being  a  brilliant  talker, 
with  gentlemanly  manners,  he  always  found  a  welcome.  I  had 
noticed  on  several  occasions  when  dancing  was  enjoyed,  he  always 
declined.  How  vividly  I  could  recall  and  remember  a  short  time 
later  why  he  did  not  and  why  he  would  not  share  my  room  with 
me,  and  on  one  bracing  morning  refused  to  accept  my  banter  for 
a  short  race  up  the  lane.  I  did  not  know  that  the  poor  fellow 
had  but  one  foot,  the  other  being  a  splendid  imitation  made  of 
ivory.  I  must  mention  that  during  his  stay  at  my  home  he  paid 
two  visits  to  Richmond,  and  in  some  plausible  manner  obtained 
a  permit  from  General  Winder,  who  was  then  provost  marshal 
of  Richmond,  and  who  seems  had  as  much  confidence  in  him  as  I 
had,  to  visit  the  fortifications  and  other  points  around  the  city, 
and  which  pass  I  was  told  by  himself  on  his  return  he  made  good 
use  of.  He  also  on  two  or  three  occasions  went  to  the  Old  Church 
Tavern  and  postoffice,  ostensibly  to  get  mail.  He  was  in  corre 
spondence  with  his  mother,  I  believe,  and  received  several  letters 
from  Belair,  Hartford  County,  Maryland,  while  with  us.  He 
often  expressed  himself  as  having  "two  mothers,"  as  mine  had 
been  so  kind  to  him  as  if  he  were  one  of  her  own  sons.  He  was 
attacked  with  chills  and  fever,  the  prevailing  disease  of  that 
section,  and  it  was  my  dear  mother's  nursing  that  restored  him. 
A  day  or  two  after  his  recovery,  he  again  visited  Old  Church 
and  never  returned.  But  I  must  digress  a  little.  During  one  of 
our  visits  in  the  neighborhood,  he  was  introduced  to  a  very  esti 
mable  and  cultivated  young  lady,  Miss  S.  K.  H.,  who,  strange  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  203 

say,  doubted  him  from  the  first  moment  she  was  in  his  company, 
and  I  have  in  my  possession  a  letter  from  her  advising  and 
warning  me  against  him.  How  strangely  her  suspicions  were 
verified  will  be  shown  later  in  my  story.  I  began  to  feel  now 
that  his  visits  to  Richmond  were  for  the  purpose  of  learning  all 
he  could  of  the  city.  Just  after  he  disappeared,  General  Kil- 
patrick  made  a  raid  through  our  neighborhood,  and  again, 
strange  to  relate,  our  farm  was  not  visited  or  disturbed,  and  after 
events  assured  me  that  this  immunity  was  due  to  my  companion. 
Lieutenant  Murray;  also  his  visits  to  Old  Church,  which  was  on 
the  main  road  to  the  Peninsula  and  the  route  General  Kilpatrick 
was  supposel  to  take,  were  for  the  purpose  of  holding  communica 
tions  with  him  by  signal. 

Some  days  afterwards,  it  may  have  been  a  week  or  more — 1 
cannot  remember  the  dates  now — a  daring  raid  was  made  upon 
Richmond  by  Kilpatrick  and  Ulric  Dahlgren,  presumably  for 
the  purpose  of  capturing  Jefferson  Davis  and  his  cabinet,  and  on 
the  night  of  the  memorable  first  day  of  March,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mattopony  River,  Colonel  Dahlgren  and  a  small  body  of  his 
men  became  separated  from  the  main  body  of  his  command  and 
in  the  darkness  of  night  ran  into  a  body  of  Confederate  cavalry 
commanded  by  Captain  Pollard,  of  Richmond,  who  fired  a  volley, 
killing  Colonel  Dahlgren,  some  of  his  staff  and  several  of  his 
men. 

Now  comes  the  sad  sequel  to  my  story;  the  body  of  the  brave, 
but  unfortunate,  young  colonel  was  captured  and  taken  to  Rich 
mond,  and,  I  believe,  embalmed,  but  I  never  learned  what  became 
of  his  body.  (Would  be  glad  if  any  reader  of  this  article  can 
give  me  the  information.)  While  his  body  was  lying  in  Rich 
mond,  one  of  the  first  to  visit  it  was  Miss  S.  K.  H.,  of  Hanover, 
who  at  one  glance  identified  the  body  as  that  of  poor  Murray, 
my  prisoner,  my  companion,  and  my  friend.  My  father,  uncle, 
and  others  who  had  seen  him,  also  identified  the  body  as  that  of 
my  friend,  Lieutenant  Murray.  I  shall  always  believe  that  he 
was  a  true  friend  at  heart,  though  an  enemy  in  disguise,  and  as  I 
look  back  into  the  dim  vista  of  those  past  dark  days  of  blood  and 
strife,  when  brother  was  fighting  brother,  I  shall  never  forget 
my  feelings  of  bitter  sorrow  and  regret  when  I  heard  the  news. 
I  was  then  with  my  command  and  could  not  see  him. 


204  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

It  may  be  said  he  was  a  spy,  and  that  he  imposed  to  some  extent 
upon  the  hospitalities  and  confidence  of  his  friends,  but  I  have 
never  felt  in  my  heart  an  unkind  memory  for  lym.  Was  not  our 
noble  patriot,  Nathan  Hale,  a  spy,  and  yet  a  trusted  friend  of  our 
glorious  Washington?  Was  not  the  brave,  unfortunate  Andre  a 
spy,  and  though  an  enemy,  a  brave  and  chivalric  one  ?  And  does 
it  not  seem  to  require  a  brave,  courageous  spirit  to  embark  upon 
such  desperate  enterprises,  one  who  will  dare  and  die,  if  need  be, 
for  the  cause  he  espouses  and  which  he  deems  right?  And  I 
recall  just  here  one  of  my  own  comrades  of  my  own  command, 
poor  Andy  Leopold,  who  was  hung  in  the  old  Capitol  prison  at 
Washington  for  the  same  offense;  as  all  seems  fair  in  love  and 
war,  he,  poor  fellowr,  dared  and  died  for  the  cause  that  he  loved. 

Was  not  poor  Murray  (I  shall  always  remember  him  by  that 
name)  just  as  brave  and  chivalrous?  Why  should  not  I,  his 
friend,  drop  a  silent  tear  in  his  memory  and  earnestly  trust  in  the 
hope  that  a  just  and  merciful  Providence  will  give  us  a  happy 
reunion  in  that  Eternal  Camping  Ground  above  the  stars,  where 
the  martyred  loved  ones  who  have  passed  on  before  us  are 
awaiting  the  last  bugle  call  to  welcome  us  to  a  home  where  there 
are  no  wars  and  no  tears? 


On  the  night  above  mentioned,  when  Colonel  Dahlgren  was 
killed,  General  Hampton  took  three  hundred  men  from  Butler's 
Cavalry  and  one  gun  from  Hart's  Battery  and  routed  Kilpatrick 
with  his  fresh  troops  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  Yankees 
were  badly  demoralized,  and  Colonel  Dahlgren,  alias  Lieutenant 
Murray,  rode  right  into  our  cavalry,  and,  of  course,  lost  his  life. 
A  good  spy  will  never  surrender. 

After  the  dismal  failure  of  Kilpatrick  to  capture  our  President 
he  was  displaced  and  Sheridan  put  in  command  of  the  Union 
cavalry  in  Virginia — U.  R.  BROOKS. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  205 


BATTLE  OF  BETHESDA  CHURCH 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th  May,  1864,  General  M.  C.  Butler, 
whose  new  brigade  had  recently  arrived  from  the  seacoast  of 
South  Carolina,  was  directed  to  establish  a  strong  picket  post  at 
Knowles'  Crossroads  in  front  of  General  Early's  Division,  sta 
tioned  near  Bethesda  Church,  in  front  of  Richmond.  General 
Butler  ordered  Colonel  B.  H.  Rutledge.  of  the  Fourth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  to  report  with  two  squadrons  to  General  Early 
for  instructions  as  to  the  location  of  the  picket  post  at  or  near  the 
Cross  Roads. 

Colonel  Rutledge  was  unfamiliar  with  the  country  and  rather 
complicated  military  field  maps,  and,  therefore,  naturally  could 
not  understand  from  General  Early  the  situation,  or  where  he  was 
expected  to  go,  consequently  he  returned  to  General  Butler, 
informing  him  of  his  dilemma,  requesting  that  some  one  else  be 
sent  to  General  Early,  who  was  somewhat  rough  and  impatient 
at  his  not  being  able  to  understand  the  country  from  the  map. 
General  Early  could  "cuss,"  and  did  "cuss."  Colonel  Rutledge 
could  "cuss"  too,  but  General  Early  out  "cussed"  him. 

The  staff  and  couriers  realized  that  there  would  soon  be 
"music  in  the  air."  General  Butler  rode  out  in  person,  evidently 
a  good  deal  provoked  at  the  way  Colonel  Rutledge  had  been 
treated.  Butler  had  served  with  Early  before,  and  knew  how  to 
take  him.  Besides,  he  was  fond  of  General  Butler,  and  the 
friendship  was  reciprocated,  and  he  took  General  Butler's  "cuss 
ing"  like  a  little  man. 

They  met  in  the  turnpike,  both  mounted,  near  General  Early's 
headquarters,  and  we  heard  substantially  the  following  exchange 
of  compliments : 

Butler :  "General  Early,  I  have  been  ordered  to  picket  in  front 
of  your  division  at  Knowles'  Cross  Roads,  and  if  you  don't  assist 
me  in  getting  to  the  position  I  will  take  this  cavalry  back  to  camp 
and  you  can  go  to  —  -  and  do  your  own  picketing." 

No  use  to  tell  all  that  General  Butler  said. 

Early:  "Well,  get  down,  Butler;  get  down,  and  we  will  talk 
it  over." 


206  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

The  two  generals  dismounted  and  got  straddle  of  a  log,  each 
with  a  military  field  map.  Before  beginning  to  examine  it, 
Early  said:  "Butler,  wouldn't  you  like  to  have. a  drink?'1  Butler 
replied :  "Well,  yes ;  it's  about  the  time  of  day  that  a  cavalryman 
enjoys  a  little  something."  And  they  "smiled"  at  each  other 
from  a  canteen  produced  by  General  Early.  Then  they  pro 
ceeded  to  business,  facing  each  other  straddle  of  a  log  with  maps 
before  them,  Early  explaining  the  position  of  his  own  troops, 
and,  as  well  as  he  could,  the  location  of  the  enemy.  Butler  soon 
caught  on,  bid  Early  adieu,  mounted  his  beautiful  gray  horse, 
and  moved  with  the  two  squadrons  on  the  road  to  the  crossroads. 

We  had  not  proceeded  far  beyond  Early's  lines  before  we  ran 
up  against  a  strong  force  of  Yankee  infantry.  Having  been 
ordered  to  picket  at  Knowles'  Cross  Roads,  Butler,  as  usual,  made 
up  his  mind  to  get  'there,  if  he  had  to  fight  every  step  of  the  way. 
The  result  was  he  "bucked  up  against"  the  infantry  obstacles  in 
his  path,  and  from  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  until  dark, 
with  a  mere  handful  of  dismounted  cavalry,  we  kept  up  as  severe 
a  conflict  as  was  ever  waged. 

General  Butler  had  sent  to  General  Early  for  reinforcements, 
and  towards  sunset  Terry's  Infantry  Brigade  moved  up  to  our 
support.  General  Butler  directed  him  (Terry)  to  swing  his 
brigade  around  to  our  right,  and  after  a  short  engagement  the 
Yankees  retired.  * 

Generals  Early  and  Ramseur,  of  North  Carolina,  rode  up 
between  sunset  and  dusk.  The  former,  always  fond  of  chaffing 
the  cavalry,  remarked,  "Well,  Ramseur,  I  told  you  as  soon  as  the 
infantry  appeared  the  Yanks  would  travel." 

Butler  interposed:  "Infantry  be  d — d.  Here  we  have  been 
fighting  all  the  afternoon  as  infantry  against  about  ten  to  one, 
and  you  have  been  lounging  back  there  in  the  woods  almost 
within  sight  smoking  your  pipes  while  we  have  been  catching  the 
devil." 

General  Ramseur,  a  striking,  handsome,  dashing-looking  young 
man  with  a  record  as  a  soldier  as  good  as  the  best  of  them, 
laughed  very  heartily  at  this  "passage  at  arms"  between  two 
friends.  I  am  inclined  to  think  there  was  another  "smile,"  but 
the  fighting  was  all  over.  During  the  warmest  progress  of  our 
fight  a  few  men  of  the  squadrons  would  break  away  from  our  line 


BUTLER  AXD  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  207 

of  battle  for  a  short  distance  when  the  blue  coats  would  charge 
us.  General  Butler  directed  Major  John  R.  Blocker  of  his  staff 
to  dismount  in  rear  of  our  line,  draw  his  sword  and  cut  down  the 
first  man  who  left  his  post.  The  gallant  Major  Blocker  imme 
diately  dismounted  and  sent  his  superb  sorrel  horse  "George"  to 
the  rear,  and  moved  up  and  dowm  immediately  in  rear  of  our 
line,  announcing  his  intention  to  kill  the  first  man  who  moved 
from  his  position  until  ordered.  He  stepped  out  into  the  turn 
pike  and  received  a  minnie  ball  in  his  thigh  which  shattered  the 
bone.  He  was  carried  into  Richmond  to  the  Jackson  Hospital, 
where  he  died  in  three  or  four  days. 

Major  Blocker,  when  the  war  broke  out,  was  a  cadet  at  West 
Point,  in  the  second  or  third  class,  resigned  and  joined  the  Con 
federate  service  and  was  captured  at  Roanoke,  N.  C.,  in  February, 
1862,  but  was  paroled  and  in  the  summer  of  the  same  year  was 
exchanged,  and  before  the  exchange  of  prisoners  was  consumated 
he  reported  to  General  Henry  A.  Wise,  who  said  that  there  was 
no  use  for  him  to  report  for  duty  for  at  least  thirty  days,  but 
remarked,  "I  knew  the  lieutenant  would  come."  In  the  early 
spring  of  1864  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major  and  assigned 
to  duty  under  General  M.  C.  Butler,  who  put  him  in  charge  of  his 
skirmish  line.  Major  Blocker  met  the  fate  of  so  many  of  the 
best  young  men  of  the  South.  But  his  case  was  peculiarly  a  sad 
one.  He  had  recently  married  a  charming  daughter  of  Edge- 
field,  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  Miss  Emma  Nicholson,  with 
every  prospect  of  happiness,  when  he  was  cut  down  in  the  hey 
day  of  life  on  the  field  of  battle. 

Our  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  otherwise  heavy. 

A  strange  thing  happened  that  day,  among  the  other  stirring 
incidents  that  I  have  related.  As  I  have  stated,  General  Butler 
was  on  his  handsome  gray  horse,  a  short  time  before  presented  to 
him  by  his  college  chum  and  friend  Dick  Gist,  of  Union,  S.  C. 
We  captured  a  prisoner  on  the  Yankee  skirmish  line  belonging. 
as  I  now  remember,  to  a  Maine  regiment.  Nat  Butler  got  into 
conversation  with  the  prisoner,  wTho  inquired  wrho  that  was  on  the 
gray  horse.  On  being  informed  it  wTas  General  Butler,  he  said: 
"I  shot  at  that  man  six  times,"  and  described  every  position  the 
general  had  taken  during  the  fight.  The  staff  couriers,  orderlies, 
escort,  everybody  whose  duty  it  was  to  accompany  General  Butler, 


208  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

offered  to  chip  in  and  buy  him  a  horse  of  a  different  color,  if  he 
would  not  ride  the  gray  again.  The  poor  animal  was  killed 
under  the  general  in  the  very  next  fight,  one  of  four  horses  that 
met  the  same  fate  during  the  war.  He  was  the  most  graceful 
rider  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia — two  years  with  two  legs 
and  two  years  with  one  leg  of  his  own  and  the  other  he  bought, 
which  was  shot,  and  he  said  with  a  smile  on  his  face  that  he 
really  did  not  feel  the  bullet  when  it  went  through  his  right  leg 
(which  was  wood).  Besides  these  four  horses  killed  under  him, 
he  had  a  handsome  deep  bay  wounded  by  a  canister  shot  in  the 
hind  leg,  but  he  got  well. 

It  was  curious  to  note  the  difference  in  the  demeanor  of  horses 
in  battle,  as  in  men.  This  bay  horse  did  not  appear  at  all  alarmed 
at  the  fire  of  artillery,  but  the  whiz  of  a  minnie  ball  demoralized 
and  almost  made  him  frantic,  so  much  so  that  the  general  had 
to  give  him  up. 

And  poor  old  "bench  legs,"  as  the  men  used  to  call  the  chestnut 
horse  ridden  by  the  general,  was  disemboweled  by  the  same 
twelve-pound  shell  that  tore  off  his  rider's  leg  at  Brandy  Station, 
9th  June,  1863,  could  be  ridden  right  into  a  battery  of  artillery 
in  full  play  without  manifesting  any  emotion,  but  the  whiz  zip 
sound  through  the  air  of  a  bullet  upset  him  completely. 

But  to  return  to  our  narrative,  we  did  not  reach  Knowles'  Cross 
Roads,  for  the  next  day  Early's  Division  was  moved  to  the  right. 
Soon  after  this  came  old  Cold  Harbor,  and  other  desperate  strug 
gles  made  by  General  Grant  to  turn  General  Lee's  right — some 
thing  he  never  accomplished. 

"I  wish  to  be  knpwn  for  just  what  I  was 
When  I  rise  up  at  the  judgment  day ! 
I  wish  them  to  say:  'There's  an  old  Confed, 

And  he's  wearing  the  same  old  gray.' 
I  never  was  ashamed  of  it  yet,  and  that's 

Not  all — I  never  shall  be! 
For  the  proudest  years  of  my  life,  at  last 
Were  the  years  when  I  followed  Lee." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  209 


BATTLE  OF  HAWES'  SHOP 

Carl  ton  McCarthy  says  that  the  arms  and  ammunition  of  the 
Federal  soldiers  were  abundant  and  good — so  abundant  and  so 
good  that  they  supplied  both  armies,  and  were  greatly  preferred 
by  Confederate  officers.  That  the  Confederate  soldiers  fought  the 
trained  army  officers  and  the  regular  troops  of  the  United  States 
Army,  assisted  by  splendid  native  volunteer  soldiers,  besides 
swarms  of  hirelings — white,  black,  olive  and  brown — gathered 
from  every  quarter  of  the  earth  by  steamer  loads.  The  Confederate 
soldier  laid  down  life  for  life  with  his  hireling  host,  who  died  for 
pay,  mourned  by  no  one,  missed  by  no  one,  loved  by  no  one ;  who 
were  better  fed  and  clothed,  fatter,  happier,  and  more  contented  in 
the  army  than  ever  they  were  at  home,  and  whose  graves  strew  the 
earth  in  lonesome  places  where  none  go  to  weep.  When  one  of 
these  fell,  two  could  be  bought  to  fill  the  gap.  The  Confederate 
soldier  killed  these  without  compunction,  and  their  comrades 
buried  them  without  a  tear. 

On  the  28th  May,  1864,  the  battle  of  Hawes'  Shop  was  fought. 
My  comrade  and  distinguished  friend,  Mr.  Edward  L.  Wells, 
scholar,  author  and  historian,  and  gallant  soldier,  says: 

"When  Hampton  encountered  Sheridan's  advance  guard  he 
drove  it  in  upon  the  main  body,  which  he  then  vigorously  attacked 
with  Wickham's  and  Rosser's  brigades,  and  soon  the  two  regi 
ments  of  Butler's  brigade  were  put  in  on  Wickham's  right.  Thus 
Rosser  was  on  the  left,  Wickham  in  the  centre,  and  Butler's  two 
regiments  on  the  right,  the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry 
occupying  the  extreme  right.  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  division  was  sent 
by  a  road  leading  to  the  left  in  the  hope  of  turning  the  Federal 
right  flank,  but  this  proved  impracticable,  and  he  could  only  use 
the  artillery  and  cover  Rosser's  left.  The  Federals  were  at  first 
pressed  back,  having  their  second  division,  General  Gregg  com 
manding,  engaged,  but  being  reinforced  from  the  first  division 
they  held  their  ground.  It  was  discovered  also  from  infantry  pris 
oners  that  the  Federal  infantry  in  force  were  just  behind  their 
cavalry  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Pamunkey  River,  in  supporting 
distance.  It  was  evidently,  therefore,  useless  to  pursue  the  fight 

14— B.  C. 


210  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

further,  the  object  of  the  reconnoissance  being  gained  on  obtain 
ing  this  information. 

"The  order  was  consequently  given  to  withdraw  from  in  front 
of  the  combined  cavalry  and  infantry.  This  was  effected  without 
difficulty  by  Rosser,  and  in  excellent  style.  Wickham's  brigade 
was  also  got  out  promptly.  But  the  two  regiments  of  Butler's 
brigade  did  not  fare  so  well.  The  engagement  took  place  in  a 
thick  wood  with  much  dense  under  cover.  This  was  an  advantage 
to  the  Confederates,  who  availed  themselves  of  the  trees  and  logs 
and  inequalities  in  the  ground  for  protection,  and  could  thus 
obtain  the  benefit  of  their  greater  skill  in  shooting.  They  were 
doing  good  execution  from  their  long  rifles  with  terrible  minnies, 
and  had  no  idea  they  were  intended  to  leave  their  position.  More 
over,  the  denseness  of  the  cover,  together  with  the  smoke,  much 
increased  the  difficulty  of  passing  along  the  line  the  order  to  fall 
back.  So  it  happened  that  these  regiments  became  flanked  and 
suffered  considerably.  General  Hampton,  perceiving  that  some 
thing  was  wrong,  rode  in  and  brought  them  out  in  good  order, 
and  formed  them  two  or  three  hundred  yards  back  across  an  open 
field,  where  a  thrown  down  fence  afforded  some  protection.  Here 
they  awaited  'their  friends  the  enemy,'  but  the  latter  had  enough 
and  did  not  advance.  The  presence  of  Hampton,  calm,  cool  and 
reassuring,  had  braced  up  every  one.  They  never  doubted  when 
he  told  them  so.  And  his  kind  words  to  them  that  night  just 
before  dismounting  at  camp,  and  his  concern  for  their  casualties, 
dwelt  in  their  memories  ever  afterwards. 

"There  was  a  squadron  of  the  Fourth  South  Carolina  on  the 
extreme  right  which  suffered  more  than  the  others.  Couriers  sent 
to  order  them  out  were  killed,  and  consequently  they  received  no 
instructions  to  fall  back,  and  being  separated  by  thick  cover  from 
the  rest,  remained  continuing  to  fight  on  as  before.  At  length  the 
right  company  (Company  K,  Charleston  Light  Dragoons)  was 
surrounded  on  three  sides,  perceiving  which,  Lieutenant  Nowell, 
in  commanS,  gave  the  order  to  retreat.  This  they  did  coolly, 
fighting  their  way  through  at  close  quarters  in  good  order  and 
successfully  took  position  in  good  shape  on  the  right  of  their 
reformed  regimental  line.  Out  of  forty-seven  dismounted  men 
taken  in,  they  lost  nineteen  and  an  officer,  and  only  one 
unwounded  prisoner,  a  youth  only  eighteen  years  of  age.  As, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  211 

however,  they  were  very  good  shots  with  both  rifle  and  pistol, 
and  did  not  fire  in  wild  volleys,  but  singly  and  coolly  in  sports 
manlike  style,  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  the  company  inflicted  three 
casualties  for  every  one  received. 

"The  spirit  existing  among  them  may  be  judged  by  the  follow 
ing  incident.  One  of  their  number  had  been  shot  through  the 
arm,  and  obliged,  therefore,  to  drop  his  rifle,  but  he  had  come 
out  with  the  others,  holding  his  pistol  in  his  sound  hand.  Some 
one  offered  to  relieve  him  of  the  pistol,  but  he  declined,  saying: 
'I  want  that  to  shoot  a  surgeon,'  and  all  who  heard  the  remark 
laughed.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  retained  the  pistol  in  the  hos 
pital,  and  arm  too.  Poor  boys  !  No  one  ever  fought  better,  but  their 
ranks  suffered  heavily,  far  more  than  any  other  company  engaged. 
But  not  far  wrong  were  our  pagan  ancestors,  who  believed  the 
souls  of  those  who  bravely  fell  in  honorable  battle  were  trans 
ported  at  once,  all  sins  forgiven,  to  Valhalla.  Surely  the  Chris 
tian's  God  could  do  no  less. 

"The  character  of  the  fighting  done  in  this  engagement  may, 
perhaps,  be  best  judged  by  the  impression  it  produced  on  the  Fed 
erals  who  witnessed  it.  General  Custer  refers  to  Butler's  brigade, 
which  took  into  the  fight  less  than  one  thousand  dismounted  men, 
as  consisting  'of  seven  large  regiments,  principally  from  South 
Carolina,'  and  says  of  his  own  brigade,  'Our  loss  was  greater  than 
in  any  other  engagement  of  the  campaign.  We  held  our  position 
until  after  dark,  when  we  were  relieved  by  the  infantry.'  Colonel 
Kester,  First  New  Jersey  Cavalry,  reports  to  the  governor  of  his 
State  that  the  battle  was  the  severest  cavalry  fighting  of  the  war. 
'The  enemy  was  a  new  brigade  from  South  Carolina,  and  was 
very  formidable.'  Alger,  Fifth  Michigan  Cavalry,  says  it  was 
'an  obstinate  resistance,  fighting  our  men  hand  to  hand.'  General 
Da  vies,  in  his  'Life  of  Sheridan,'  writes :  'Much  of  the  very  stub 
born  resistance  exhibited  in  this  action  was  due  to  the  presence 
in  the  field  of  the  troops  from  South  Carolina  referred  to.  This 
brigade,  raised  in  South  Carolina  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
had  never  before  left  that  State  nor  had  seen  any  active  service, 
and  when,  with  full  ranks,  and  weapons  and  uniforms  all  fresh 
and  untarnished  by  war  or  service,  they  joined  the  veterans  who 
had  been  for  three  years  exposed  to  the  losses  and  trials  of  active 
duty  in  the  field,  their  reception  was  not  of  the  warmest,  and  it 


212  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

was  not  thought  that  much  could  be  expected  from  them.  The 
existence  of  this  prejudice,  and  their  own  desire  to  show  them 
selves  at  least  the  equals  of  their  comrades,  caused  them  to  exhibit 
a  desperate  courage  in  this,  their  first  engagement;  and,  as  was 
said  by  veterans  on  both  sides,  they  were  too  inexperienced  to 
know  when  they  had  suffered  defeat,  and  continued  to  resist  long 
after  it  was  apparent  that  the  position  they  held  was  turned  and 
efforts  to  maintain  it  were  hopeless.'  A  staff  officer  of  Sheridan's 
has  stated,  to  the  writer's  personal  knowledge,  that  his  general 
was  very  much  worried  over  the  losses  his  command  had  sustained 
in  this  action,  which  he  said  were  the  heaviest  he  had  ever 
suffered,  in  proportion  to  the  number  engaged.  He  remarked: 
'It  is  the  first  time  we  have  met  those  Carolinians  of  Butler's,  and 
I  wish  to  God  it  might  be  the  last.'  In  his  official  report  he  says 
that  the  Confederate  force  'appeared  to  be  the  cavalry  corps  and 
a  brigade  of  South  Carolina  troops  4,000  strong  and  armed  with 
long-range  rifles,  commanded  by  a  Colonel  Butler.  These  Caro 
linians  fought  very  gallantly  in  this,  their  first  fight,  judging 
from  the  number  of  their  dead  and  wounded  and  prisoners  cap 
tured.'  It  should  be  remembered  that  fighting  on  the  part  of  the 
Confederates  was  done  by  two  brigades  and  two  regiments  of 
South  Carolina  troops,  the  latter  numbering  less  than  1,000 
instead  of  4,000  as  stated.  He  speaks  of  it  as  an  'unequal  contest,' 
and  so  it  was,  but  in  a  sense  opposite  to  that  intended  by  him. 
He  also  adds  that  the  battle  'was  fought  almost  immediately  in 
front  of  the  infantry  line  of  our  army,  which  was  busily  occupied 
throwing  up  breastworks.'  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
infantry  prisoners  were  captured  by  Hampton,  and  would  seem 
to  prove  that  they  must  have  been  engaged.  These,  among  many 
similar  quotations  which  might  be  given,  sufficiently  illustrate 
what  was  thought  of  Butler's  'long  shooters,'  the  withdrawal 
being  made,  as  a  matter  of  course,  after  the  enemy's  position  was 
developed  and  the  fact  was  established  that  the  brigades  of 
Rosser,  Wickham  and  two  regiments  of  Butler  were  attacking  the 
combined  cavalry  and  infantry  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

"This  reconnoissance,  made  in  pursuance  of  orders  from  Lee, 
was  perfectly  successful  in  its  chief  and  all-important  object- 
ascertaining  clearly  the  position  of  the  Federal  infantry.  It  was 
one  of  the  steps  in  the  manoeuvres  of  Lee  leading  up  to  Cold 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  213 

Harbor,  and  as  that  battle  was  a  decisive  victory  for  the  Confed 
erates,  the  preliminaries  must  have  been  successfully  managed  by 
Hampton,  both  in  demonstrating  the  movements  of  the  Federal 
infantry  and  cavalry  and  in  veiling  those  of  his  own  army.  Per 
haps  had  Sheridan,  possessing  such  superiority  in  numbers  and 
equipment,  refrained  from  the  fruitless  excursion  to  Richmond 
and  confined  his  efforts  more  closely  to  the  normal  functions  of 
the  cavalry  of  a  great  army,  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness  and 
Spottsylvania  might  have  had  different  results  for  his  friends. 
It  is  said  by  one  writer  that  his  Richmond  raid  came  about  from 
its  being  reported  to  General  Grant  by  Meade  that  Sheridan  had 
said  he  'could  beat  Hampton's  cavalry'  if  permitted  to  act  inde 
pendently,  upon  which  General  Grant  replied:  'Does  he  say  that? 
Then  let  him  go  and  do  it.'  He  went,  but  did  not  'do  it,'  and  in 
the  meantime  left  his  army  groping  in  the  dark. 

"The  engagement  at  Hawes'  Shop  gave  a  serious  experience  to 
the  Federal  cavalry,  one  which  they  never  forgot,  and  they 
courted  no  renewals  of  similar  contests.  It  also  increased  the 
prestige  of  Hampton's  Cavalry  with  the  infantry  of  their  own 
army,  and  many  kindly  greetings  came  from  those  veterans  to  the 
new  comers  during  the  following  few  days."* 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1864  a  Confederate  colonel 
who  had  just  been  captured  was  questioned  by  General  Sheridan, 
who  was  walking  back  and  forth  pulling  his  mustache  in  an 
excited  manner.  Finally  he  asked  the  Confederate  officer  if  he 
knew  General  M.  C.  Butler,  and,  being  answered  in  the  affirma 
tive,  said :  "That  damned  man  has  caused  me  more  trouble  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  'Rebel  cavalry'  put  together." 


My  old  comrade,  J.  Lawson  Walker,  of  Company  B,  Fourth 
South  Carolina  Cavalry,  Captain  Barber's  company,  Colonel 
B.  A.  Rutlege's  regiment,  reminds  me  in  his  letter  of  date  26th 
August,  1907,  of  how  the  last  of  our  hard-tack  and  raw  meat  was 
devoured  on  Friday,  the  10th  June,  and  that  we  got  nothing  more 
to  eat  until  Monday,  the  13th  June,  1864,  and  how  Nealy  Grant 
drove  a  two-horse  wagon  in  a  gallop  just  behind  our  line  of 


*The  above  is  taken  from  "Hampton  and  His  Cavalry  in  1864,"  by  Ed 
ward  L.  Wells. 


214  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

battle  at  Trevillian,  throwing  out  ammunition  to  the  men  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  12th  June.  We  were  about  out  of  cartridges 
and  were  prepared  to  repulse  the  next  charge  with  rocks.  Nealy 
Grant  was  one  of  the  heroes  of  this  terrible  fight  and  died  10th 
September,  1907,  at  his  home  in  Chester  County,  S.  C.,  eighty- 
seven  years  old.  General  Butler  ordered  him  to  go,  and  he  ac 
complished  this  remarkable  feat  and  escaped  through  a  perfect 
hail  of  bullets.  Butler's  cavalry  repulsed  seven  distinct  charges 
that  afternoon.  Battery  M,  of  the  United  States  Regulars,  and 
Hart's  Battery  had  a  regular  duel  over  our  heads  about  dark.  I 
really  thought  it  was  the  grandest  sight  that  I  had  ever  witnessed. 
Battery  M  was  demolished. 


The  grandfather  of  the  able  and  courteous  city  editor  of  The 
State  was  the  Rev.  William  Banks,  who  was  the  chaplain  of  the 
Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  The  reverend  Mr.  Banks  was 
captured  by  a  squad  of  Yankees  in  1864.  The  reverend  gentleman 
was  wearing  a  very  nice  suit  of  clothes  and  had  a  very  fine  horse 
called  Chester.  The  Yanks  appropriated  everything  he  had,  then 
dressed  him  up  in  an  old  filthy  Yankee  private's  uniform  with  an 
old  blue  cap  that  was  so  small  he  could  scarcely  make  it  stay  on 
his  head.  When  Mr.  Banks  was  thus  clad  they  placed  him  upon 
an  old  mule  and  turned  him  loose,  as  it  was  against  the  rules  of 
war  to  retain  chaplains  in  captivity. 


One  of  the  most  fearless  and  coolest  boys  in  the  Fifth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry  is  my  life-long  friend  Glenn  E.  Davis,  the  city 
sheriff  of  Charleston.  When  we  wore  the  gray  we  slept  under  the 
same  blanket  upon  the  cold,  wet  ground;  we  have  been  together 
when  bullets  were  singing;  were  young  boys  then,  are  old  men 
now ;  were  friends  then,  are  friends  now. 

Glenn  Davis  was  one  of  the  best  shots  with  a  pistol  I  have  ever 
seen.  When  Sherman  was  marching  through  North  Carolina, 
Glenn  had  about  seven  men  and  they  charged  twenty-five  "bum 
mers,"  who  were  fixing  to  burn  a  house  after  they  had  stolen 
everything  in  it.  The  Yanks,  acting  on  the  principle  that  a  guilty 
conscience  needs  no  accuser,  and  had  been  deaf  to  the  cries  of 
the  women  and  children  through  Georgia  and  the  Carol inas, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  215 

broke  and  ran  for  life  when  they  heard  the  "Rebel  yell."  Our 
boys  killed  several  of  them.  Glenn  Davis  looked  back  in  the 
direction  of  the  house  and  galloped  back,  leaving  his  party,  and 
found  three  horses  still  hitched  to  the  porch  railings  of  the  house, 
and  just  as  he  came  within  a  few  yards  of  same  a  Yankee,  seeing 
that  he  wras  alone,  came  out  of  the  front  door  and  jumped  behind 
a  pillar  of  the  porch,  firing  at  Davis  with  his  pistol.  He  shot 
three  times  and  missed.  Davis  could  not  get  a  fair  shot  at  him 
until  he  ventured  to  put  his  head  out  a  little  for  the  fourth  shot, 
when  Davis  got  his  first  pull,  a  lucky  one,  too,  taking  him  just 
above  the  ear.  So  when  the  squad  got  back  to  the  house  there 
were  three  more  horses  for  our  cavalry  and  one  Yankee  less  in 
Sherman's  Army.  There  was  not  a  soldier  so  proud  of  his  regi 
ment,  the  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  as  was  Glenn  Davis,  and 
his  admiration  for  our  dashing  Major-General  Butler  was  beau 
tiful.  He  used  to  say  that  Marshal  Ney  could  not  be  compared  to 
him.  When  I  think  of  these — General  Dunovant's  old  couriers — 
Glenn  Davis,  Postell  Mood,  Ben  Raysor  and  Flynn  Davis,  friends 
of  my  youth,  I  am  reminded  that 

"Friendship!  mysterious  cement  of  the  soul! 
Sweetner  of  life !  and  solder  of  society !" 


216  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


A  FEW  LETTERS     • 

Confederate  States  of  America, 
War  Department,  Ordnance  Bureau. 

Richmond,  May  23rd,  1864. 

Colonel  Hugh  K.  Aiken  to  Major  Tom  Ferguson. 

Dear  Major:  I  trust  all  arrangements  have  been  properly 
carried  out  for  your  command  as  far  as  the  junction — Burks ville. 
You  must  draw  there  three  (3)  days'  rations,  which  will  do  you  to 
Richmond.  Send  Gibbes  off  as  soon  as  he  issues  the  rations  to 
you.  Come  Wednesday  to  where  you  can  get  forage — fifteen  or 
even  twenty  miles.  Thursday,  I  will  send  you  forage  from  here 
if  you  get  to  Richmond,  or  will  send  me  word  where  you  will  be. 
On  Friday  you  will  camp  near  the  James  River,  at  a  place  called 
Manchester,  just  opposite  Richmond,  where  the  regiment  will 
remain  until  all  arrive  here  are  entirely  equipped.  We  are  much 
needed  here — will  go  into  service  at  once.  We  are  very  much 
censured  for  the  delay.  General  Butler  has  issued  orders  to  the 
colonels  to  report  what  has  become  of  the  respective  regiments 
each  day  since  the  order  was  received.  Prepare  a  report  account 
ing  for  each  day  as  I  have  written  upon  the  back.  Make  the 
company  officers  have  a  requisition  ready  for  me,  soon  as  they 
arrive  here,  for  everything  they  may  want.  They  will  also  be 
required  to  account  for  all  ordnance  stores  heretofore  drawn.  Be 
careful  not  to  let  men  ride  horses  with  sore  backs.  Come  on  in 
good  order  and  be  on  the'  lookout  all  the  way.  Instruct  your 
advance  guard  to  keep  near  the  wagon  trains.  Send  a  man  ahead 
of  you  Thursday  and  Friday  to  report  to  me  at  "ordnance  office," 
enquiring  for  Colonel  A.  I  look  for  Colonel  Miller  tonight  and 
nightly  until  he  comes.  No  news  here.  General  Lee  has  fallen 
back  to  Hanover,  and  the  fight,  is  supposed,  will  come  off  near 
Richmond.  Send  Gibbes  on  here  by  Wednesday  or  Thursday. 
Tell  Willie  Rob  Taft  is  dead.  Nelson's  battalion  lost  very  heavily. 
Captain  Brooks  lost  seventy-one  men  out  of  eighty ;  came  out  with 
nine  men,  he  wounded  in  three  places.  General  Walker  lost  his 


COLONEL   HUGH    K.    AIKEN 


218  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

foot.     Maloney  lost  two  horses  shot,  Hagood  one,  Tracey  one  and 
Martin  one.     My  regards  to  all. 

Yours,  et€.^ 

H.  K.  AIKEN. 


Lancaster,  S.  C.,  July  14th,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

My  Dear  Colonel:  I  do  greatly  enjoy  your  sketches  in  the 
Sunday  State,  and  have  traveled  with  you  again  over  the  cam 
paign  of  1864  with  its  varied  memories.  I  am  glad  that  you  have 
undertaken  this  work,  because  you  participated  in  making  the 
history  that  you  are  writing  and  know  that  it  is  true ;  though,  I 
I  agree  with  you  entirely  that  one  person  could  not  see  it  all,  who 
was  a  participant  in  the  field,  and  could  only  see  what  was  taking 
place  around  him.  I  hope  there  are  still  left  enough  of  assistants 
to  get  the  correct  data  for  your  historical  sketches.  In  your 
description  of  that  "feeling"  skirmish  at  Cold  Harbor  on  the  30th 
of  May,  I  think  you  said  there  was  some  confusion  about  the  order 
of  retreat,  which  there  was,  and  I  think  I  can  give  some  informa 
tion  on  that  point  and  show  (if  it  were  needed)  the  character  of 
our  general  as  a  cool  and  fearless  leader  of  men.  As  I  was  about 
the  last  to  get  back  to  our  led  horses,  when  I  got  there  and  got 
mounted  my  bugler,  who  was  my  horse-holder,  told  me  that  the 
regiment  had  gone,  that  Colonel  Stokes  had  gone,  and  unless  we 
started  right  away  we  would  not  be  able  to  overtake  them.  But  as 
I  saw  General  Butler  on  the  field  some  fifty  yards  distant,  I  told 
my  bugler,  no,  we  had  better  wait  and  see  if  Butler  needed  us. 
Shortly  after  this  General  Butler  beckoned  me  to  come  to  him, 
when  he  told  me  to  take  my  men  (some  fifteen  or  twenty)  and 
the  other  scattered  troops  that  were  there,  throw  them  into  column 
of  fours  facing  toward  the  field  we  had  just  left,  and  to  let  the 
rear  of  the  column  be  covered  by  the  woods  just  in  our  rear.  I  did 
so  and  had  not  more  than  got  to  the  head  of  the  column  and  taken 
my  place  before  we  heard  the  Yankees  coming  at  a  trot  or  half 
gallop,  their  sabres  and  iron  stirrups  making  a  considerable 
clanking,  from  which  I  guessed  there  was  about  a  brigade  of  them. 
General  Butler  sat  there  in  twenty  or  thirty  paces  of  us,  perfectly 
cool,  and  when  the  Yankee  brigade  had  cleared  the  woods  in  front 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  219 

of  us,  by  about  two  files  in  column  of  fours,  gave  the  order  "Draw 
saber,"  and  afterwards,  "Show  them  the  steel."  The  order  was 
promptly  obeyed  and  we  heard  in  the  charging  brigade  the 
orders,  "Halt!  Halt!"  which  were  also  promptly  obeyed,  and 
with  our  general  at  our  head,  sabre  in  hand,  we  sat  there  and 
dared  them  until  they  headed  column  to  the  rear  and  moved  out 
of  our  sight,  leaving  us  to  retire  in  good  order  at  will,  back  to  the 
main  body  of  our  troops  at  Old  Cold  Harbor. 

When  the  memorable  stampede  took  place  just  about  dark  the 
same  evening,  Colonel  Rutledge,  with  the  remainder  of  the  regi 
ment  that  had  not  gone  with  Colonel  Stokes,  were  about  to  go  into 
bivouac  in  the  old  field  at  the  Cross  Roads.  On  hearing  the  rush 
ing,  it  was  supposed  of  a  cavalry  charge,  we  quickly  mounted  and 
were  drawn  up  in  single  file  in  front  of  the  Fifth  Regiment, 
where  we  awaited  the  charge,  ready  to  do  what  we  could.  A 
riderless  horse  passed  our  front  in  a  mad  gallop,  and  I  have 
always  thought  that  he  was  fired  at  by  a  dismounted  man,  who  at 
the  time  shouted  "Yankee!"  and  ran  across  the  road  into  the 
timber.  The  next  day  Colonel  Stokes,  with  the  body  of  the  regi 
ment,  joined  us.  It  seems  that  he,  not  knowing  where  our  head 
quarters  would  be,  had  bivouacked  some  further  up  the  road 
between  Cold  Harbor  and  Mechanicsville.  How  we  were 
employed  between  this  time  and  the  march  to  Trevillian,  you 
know  better  than  I  do.  I  had  intended  to  give  you  my  recollec 
tions  of  the  two  days'  fight  at  Trevillian,  but  do  not  feel  able 
at  this  time  to  do  so,  but  if  desirable,  will  do  so  whenever  I  can, 
and  will  give  you  any  other  information  that  I  can. 

I  do  not  like  to  use  the  personal  pronoun  so  much,  but  was 
commander  of  the  Fifth  squadron,  Companies  "H"  and  "I,"  of 
the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  and  cannot  get  along  well 
without  it,  but  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me  of  egotism,  though  at 
the  same  time  never  held  any  position  that  I  was  or  am  prouder  of. 
Very  respectfully,  your  friend  and  comrade, 

J.  C.  FOSTER. 


220  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

State  of  Georgia 
Treasury  Department 

Atlanta,  Ga.  :  ^r 

R.  E.  Park,  Treasurer. 
C.  T.  Furlow,  Assistant. 

June  24th,  1908. 
General  M.  C.  Butler,  Edge-field,  S.  C. 

My  Dear  General  Butler :  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  your  kind 
words  in  regard  to  my  little  sketch  of  the  Twelfth  Alabama 
Infantry.  The  scene  of  part  of  my  career  in  the  Confederate 
Army  is  located  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  State,  and  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  seeing  General 
Hampton  and  yourself  upon  your  splendid  horses,  both  in  my 
estimation  the  very  incarnation  or  impersonation  of  the  God  of 
War,  and  I  have  sometimes  been  envious  enough  to  wish  that  I 
could  be  riding  by  your  side  instead  of  tramping  along  on  foot. 
Your  kind  words  in  regard  to  my  sketch  are  highly  appreciated 
by  me,  and  I  thank  you.  The  words  were  written  "warm  from 
the  heart  and  faithful  to  its  fires." 

With  highest  regards, 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

R.  E.  PARK. 


Rockland,  Maine,  July  27th,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

Dear  Old  Comrade :  For  we  are  all  comrades,  whether  we  wore 
the  blue  or  the  gray.  A  recent  letter  of  mine  was  published  in 
the  July  issue  of  the  Confederate  Veteran.  The  sentiments 
expressed  therein  have  been  kindly  received  by  some  of  the  old 
boys  who  were  on  the  firing  line,  and  I  am  the  recipient  of  several 
excellent  letters.  One  sent  me  a  piece  published  in  The  State, 
issue  of  July  19th,  1908.  This  has  reference  to  a  book  you  con 
template  getting  out.  I  noticed  in  the  article  something  about  the 
scenes  that  occurred  at  Gravelly  Run,  Dabney's  Mill,  etc.  As  I 
was  at  that  time  connected  with  the  Fifth  Corps,  there  is  a  possi- 


A.    I.    MATHER 


222  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

bility  that  you  and  I  were  not  far  apart  during  those  stirring 
scenes. 

Would  like  to  shake  hands  with  you  and  talk  over  old  times. 
What  about  your  book? 

The  war  ended  with  me  at  Appomattox,  and  I  consider  all  the 
old  Confed.  Yets,  brothers  and  comrades  always. 

Most  fraternally  yours, 

A.  I.  MATHER. 

A.  I.  Mather,  secretary,  became  a  master  Mason  in  1865  and 
served  as  worshipful  master  of  Rockland  Lodge  from  1869  to 
1872  and  from  1884  to  1886.  He  has  been  secretary  of  the  lodge 
twelve  years.  He  was  deputy  grand  master  for  his  district  in 
1888  and  1889.  Mr.  Mather  was  high  priest  of  Temple  chapter 
in  1885  and  1886,  received  the  order  of  high  priesthood  in  1887 
and  was  grand  master  of  the  first  veil  in  1889.  He  was  thrice 
illustrious  master  of  King  Hiram  Council  in  1887  and  1888,  and 
in  the  grand  council  has  served  as  conductor  and  captain  of  the 
guard  two  terms  each.  He  was  eminent  commander  of  Clare- 
mont  Commandery  in  1906-7.  Mr.  Mather  was  the  first  in  this 
section  of  the  State  to  petition  for  degrees  in  the  Scottish  Rite. 
He  was  thrice  potent  master  of  Rockland  Lodge  of  Perfection 
two  years  and  sovereign  grand  prince  of  Rockland  council, 
Princes  of  Jerusalem,  four  years.  Mr.  Mather  is  a  florist. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  223 


GREAT  MEN  PROFITABLE  COMPANY 

Thomas  Carlyle  says :  "One  comfort  is,  that  great  men,  taken 
up  in  any  way,  are  profitable  company.  We  cannot  look,  however 
imperfectly,  upon  a  great  man  without  gaining  something  by  him. 
He  is  the  living  light  fountain,  which  it  is  good  and  pleasant  to  be 
near.  The  light  enlightens,  which  has  enlightened  the  darkness 
of  the  world,  and  this  not  as  a  kindred  lamp  only,  but  as  a  natural 
luminary  shining  by  the  gift  of  Heaven ;  a  flowing  light  fountain 
as  I  say  of  native  original  insight  of  manhood  and  heroic  noble 
ness;  in  whose  radiance  all  souls  feel  that  it  is  well  with  them. 
On  any  terms  whatsoever  you  will  not  grudge  to  wander  in  such 
neighborhood  for  a  while." 

When  a  battle  was  just  begun  one  day  in  Virginia  a  certain 
colonel  rode  up  to  General  Hampton  and  said :  "General,  I  am  not 
equal  to  the  task.  I  have  turned  my  regiment  over  to  the  next  in 
command."  He  was  shaking  like  an  aspen  leaf.  General  Hamp 
ton  calmly  said  to  him :  "Colonel,  you  are  a  gentleman,  and  you 
have  heavy  responsibilities.  Now,  return  to  your  command  and 
be  what  Almighty  God  has  made  you — a  man."  The  very 
presence  of  General  Hampton  seemed  to  inspire  him,  and  he 
returned  at  once  to  his  command  and  fought  gallantly  through 
the  remainder  of  the  war.  But  for  the  greatness  of  Hampton 
what  would  have  become  of  this  gentleman,  this  colonel,  and  his 
posterity  ? 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  October,  1864,  about  the  break 
of  day,  just  as  the  battle  of  Burgess  Mill  commenced,  General 
Butler  said  some  very  soothing  words  to  a  private  soldier  who 
was  very  badly  frightened,  and  the  advice  calmed  him  perfectly 
and  he  fought  like  a  man  the  remainder  of  the  day. 

In  all  ages  great  men  unite  other  men  to  them.  It  was  wonder 
ful  how  Hampton  and  Butler  controlled  the  men  under  them. 


224  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


FIGHT  AT  MATADOQUIN  AND  TOTOPOMOI 
CREEKS,  30TH  MAY,  1864 

A  heavy  engagement  with  the  Yankees  between  Butler's  and 
Gary's  Brigades  on  Matadoquin  and  Totopomoi  Creeks  and 
Butler's  Brigade  at  and  near  Old  Cold  Harbor  next  day  was 
most  important  to  General  Lee  as  developing  General  Grant's 
movement  to  turn  General  Lee's  right. 

General  Butler  received  the  following  order  direct  from  Gen 
eral  Lee — I  have  in  my  possession  the  original: 


H.  Q.  A.  N.  V.,  30th  May,  1864,  8  A.  M. 

General :  General  Lee  directs  me  to  say  that  General  Fitz.  Lee  has  just 
reported  that  the  force  of  the  enemy  that  was  on  our  left  at  McKenzie's 
Corner  yesterday  afternoon  has  withdrawn  by  the  way  it  came  by  Doctor 
Shelton's.  The  General  thinks  the  enemy  is  moving  around  towards  our 
right,  and  desires  that  you  will  push  some  bold  scouting  parties  up  the 
road  in  which  your  command  is  and  endeavor  to  ascertain  which  way  they 
are  going.  You  will  extend  this  information  to  Colonel  Gary  and  request 
him  to  move  up  the  roads  he  occupies,  sending  forward  good  scouting  par 
ties,  and  try  to  find  out  where  the  enemy  is  crossing.  Use  every  prudent 
means  to  find  out  which  way  the  enemy  are  going. 

Very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

C.  MARSHALL, 
Lt.   Col.   &  A.   D.  C. 
Brigadier  General  Butler,  Commanding,  &c. 

General  Butler  immediately  on  receipt  of  this  order  moved 
with  his  brigade  via  Games'  Mill  and  Cold  Harbor  to  execute  it, 
meantime  extending  the  order  to  General  Gary  as  directed. 

He  found  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  strong  force  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Matadoquin  and  Totopomoi  Creeks. 

Carrying  out  his  instructions,  he  made  a  vigorous  attack  to 
develop  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  if  possible,  ascertaining  the 
purpose  and  direction  of  their  movement.  We  tried  conclusions 
with  him  for  several  hours  and  it  appeared  the  Yankees  were 
heading  for  Cold  Harbor.  They  brought  up  field  artillery — we 
had  none — and  gave  us  a  good  many  doses  of  schrapnel  besides 
volleys  and  scattering  shots  from  their  repeating  carbines,  being 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  225 

constantly  reinforced  during  the  afternoon.  We  gave  in  return 
the  best  we  had  in  the  shop.  The  result  was  General  Butler 
withdrew  his  line  and  at  one  time  there  was  a  good  deal  of  con 
fusion  covering  in  his  retreat  the  strategic  point  of  Cold  Harbor. 
The  Yankees  did  not  pursue  very  actively,  so  that  we  reached 
Cold  Harbor  just  before  sunset.  We  halted  and  bivouacked  for 
the  night.  General  Butler  meantime  informed  General  Lee  of 
the  situation,  wTith  a  report  of  the  fierce  encounter  he  had  had 
with  a  largely  superior  force  of  the  enemy.  The  result  was 
General  Early  was  at  Cold  Harbor  the  next  day  writh  his  division 
read}7  for  Grant's  flank  movement.  For  this  important  work 
General  R.  E.  Lee  selected  General  M.  C.  Butler,  because  he  knew 
that  Butler  would  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time.  General 
Lee  set  a  trap  for  Grant  and  Butler  led  him  into  it.  Here  is 
General  Butler's  report: 

Headquarters  Cold  Harbor,  May  30,  1804. 

General :  I  drove  in  the  enemy's  cavalry  picket?  at  Baker's  house  at  2 
o'clock  today,  and  encountered  their  main  force  at  Matadoquin  Creek  and 
after  an  engagement  of  about  three  hours  was  forced  to  retire  by  exhaus 
tion  of  ammunition  and  largely  superior  numbers.  I  do  not  think  they 
had  infantry,  and  from  all  I  could  learn  I  do  not  think  they  have  infantry 
moving  down  this  side  the  Pamunky  River.  I  will  send  scouts  tonight  and 
endeavor  to  get  between  the  Old  Church  Road  and  the  river,  and  will 
notify  you  of  their  reports.  They  have  a  large  force  of  cavalry ;  prisoners 
say  a  corps. 

Very  respectfully, 

M.  C.  BUTLER, 
Brigadier-General   of  Cavalry. 


Here  is  another  report  from  General  Butler : 

Headquarters  Bottom's  Bridge, 

June  2,  1864,  1:30  P.  M. 
Major-General  Fitz  Lee,  Commanding  Cavalry  Division. 

General :  The  enemy  has  appeared  at  Bottom's  Bridge ;  they  have  as  yet 
developed  nothing  but  pickets.  Deserters  of  this  morning  say  that  a  force 
of  infantry  from  Williamsburg  is  to  cross  at  Bottom's  Bridge.  I  have 
scouts  across  and  will  forward  information.  I  have  some  reason  for 
doubting  the  veracity  of  the  deserters,  and  the  genuineness  of  their  inten 
tions.  One  of  your  men  reports  a  dust  moving  toward  McClellan's  Bridge. 
Four  German  deserters,  who  came  in  early  in  the  morning,  do  not  confirm 
altogether  the  reports  of  the  last  two.  B.  F.  Butler  seems  certainly  to 
have  joined  Grant.  Only  two  pieces  of  artillery  have  reported  to  me,  and 

15— B.  c. 


226  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

I  have  them  masked  at  Bottom's  Bridge.  I  could  probably  hold  the  posi 
tion  for  some  time,  but  it  would  be  well  to  reinforce  it  if  practicable.  In 
order  to  facilitate  communication  between  us,  I  would  be  obliged  for  four 
or  five  men  who  know  the  country  and  where  your  headquarters  are. 

Very  respectfully, 

M.  C.  BUTLER, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

The  next  day,  the  3rd  day  of  June  following,  occurred  that 
sanguinary  battle  of  Second  Cold  Harbor,  where  Grant's  losses 
in  a  half  hour's  time  amounted  as  reported  to  be  thirteen  thou 
sand  men.  "Walk  into  my  parlor  said  the  spider  (Lee)  to  the 
fly  (Grant.)" 

It  was  here  also  that  Grant's  men  refused  to  obey,  when  ordered 
to  assault  General  Lee's  lines  again,  so  completely  demoralized 
were  they  by  the  slaughter  they  had  just  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  General  Lee's  "incomparable  soldiers." — See  Wilkinson's  His 
tory,  "A  Yankee  Soldier  Who  Heard  the  Order  Given  and  Saw 
it  Disobeyed."  Owing  to  the  timely  notice  furnished  General  Lee 
by  General  Butler  on  30th  May,  of  Grant's  approach  towards  his 
right  at  Cold  Harbor,  he  did  not  succeed  then  or  thereafter  in 
flanking  "Mars  Robert."  He  had  to  adopt  General  McClellan's 
plan  of  getting  to  Richmond  at  last.  It  has  been  stated,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  officially  stated,  that  General  Lee  killed,  wounded 
and  captured  in  three  weeks  sixty-five  thousand  of  Grant's  men, 
equal  to  the  entire  army  under  General  Lee's  command.  The 
Sixth  Yankee  Army  Corps  in  three  weeks  lost  twelve  thousand 
men  out  of  thirty  thousand.  General  Grant  never  maneuvered— 
no  need  to  against  one  of  the  greatest  military  chieftains  the 
world  has  ever  known.  General  Grant  himself  was  a  very  great 
master  in  the  art  of  war,  and  it  is  no  disparagement  of  his  illus 
trious  career  to  say  that  if  he  had  come  upon  the  militarj7  stage 
in  Virginia  with  his  methods  of  hammering  in  1862  and  1863, 
when  General  Lee  "knocked  out"  McClellan,  Pope,  McClellan 
again,  Burnside,  Meade  and  Hooker,  the  chances  are  he  would 
have  met  a  similar  fate.  In  a  paper  read  before  the  Military 
Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts,  General  Charles  A.  Whittier 
otf  the  Union  Army  says :  "The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  will 
deservedly  rank  as  the  best  which  has  existed  on  this  continent, 
suffering  privations  unknown  to  its  opponents,  it  fought  well  from 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  227 

the  early  Peninsula  days  to  the  surrender  of  that  small  remnant 
at  Appomattox.  It  seemed  always  ready,  active,  mobile.  Without 
doubt,  it  was  composed  of  the  best  men  of  the  South,  rushing  to 
what  they  considered  the  defense  of  their  country  against  a  bitter 
invader,  and  they  took  the  places  assigned,  officer  or  private,  and 
fought  until  beaten  by  superiority  of  numbers.  The  North  sent 
no  such  army  to  the  field,  and  its  patriotism  was  of  easier  char 
acter,  etc." 

But  I  am  drifting  into  a  field  of  conjecture.  That  night  of  the 
30th  of  May,  1864,  a  very  unfortunate  and  unnecessary  stampede 
occurred.  General  Butler  had  ordered  a  detail  of  thirty  men 
under  a  commissioned  officer  to  picket  in  our  front.  The  Yankees 
had  shown  no  disposition  to  follow  us  up  that  night,  and  it  was 
thought  a  comparatively  small  picket  reserve  only  was  necessary, 
especially  as  we  all  were  to  "sleep  with  one  eye  open"  in  camp. 
About  the  time  the  thirty  men  were  ready  to  move,  a  captain  of 
a  Georgia  battalion  that  had  just  arrived  from  home  for  Young's 
brigade  rode  up  to  General  Butler  at  the  head  of  his  battalion, 
and  after  introducing  himself,  requested  him — General  Butler — 
to  order  a  court  to  enquire  into  his,  the  captain's  conduct,  that 
he  had  been  at  Games'  Mill  all  day  in  hearing  of  our  guns  and 
had  been  directed  by  a  colonel  who  he  did  not  know  to  remain  at 
Games'  Mill,  and  that  he  wanted  a  court  of  enquiry.  General 
Butler  informed  him  that  he  would  be  accommodated  as  to  the 
court,  but  he  must  go  on  picket  with  his  battalion,  that  we  were 
all  worn  out  and  exhausted  after  the  day's  operations.  There 
upon  the  captain  enquired  of  General  Butler  if  there  was  a  doc 
tor  anywhere  near.  General  Butler  asked  him  what  he  wanted 
with  a  doctor,  to  which  the  captain  replied  he  was  feeling  very 
badly  and  would  like  to  consult  a  doctor.  Then  the  fur  began  to 
fly.  General  Butler,  with  unmistakable  emphasis,  said  "No,  sir; 
you  have  no  use  for  a  doctor  tonight,  you  must  go  on  picket  and 
if  necessary  see  a  doctor  tomorrow,  if  you  shall  need  one."  The 
impression  made  on  the  staff  and  couriers  standing  near  that  the 
"Dominecker"  had  struck  the  captain  and  he  wanted  to  plead  sick 
to  get  rid  of  the  detail  of  picket  duty.  But  he  did  not  know  his 
man.  General  Butler  then  instructed  the  battalion  commander, 
with  two  squadrons,  to  move  his  command  up  the  road  beyond  the 
thirty  men  of  his  brigade,  and  return  for  instructions.  The  cap- 


228  BTTTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

tain  accordingly  returned,  dismounted  and  was  given  his  lesson  as 
follows:  That  he  should  move  cautiously  up  the  road  towards 
the  enemy,  throw  out  an  advance  guard  of  fifteen  or  twenty  men 
under  a  commissioned  officer,  to  be  preceded  *by  three  or  more 
videttes  riding  some  distance  in  front  of  his  column ;  that  as  soon 
as  his  videttes  were  fired  on  by  the  Yankee  videttes,  as  would  most 
likely  be  the  case,  he  should  halt  his  main  column,  keeping  his 
advance  guard  and  videttes  well  to  the  front,  and  at  daylight, 
when  he  could  see  the  surrounding  country,  either  advance  or 
retire  to  an  eligible  position,  according  to  the  lay  of  the  land, 
and  await  orders,  resisting  as  well  as  he  could  any  attack  of  the 
enemy,  until  we  could  get  up  to  his  relief,  meantime  reporting  at 
intervals  during  the  night. 

General  Butler  had  given  these  same  instructions  in  minute 
detail  to  the  lieutenant  in  command  of  the  thirty  men  of  his 
brigade  before  the  captain  appeared  on  the  scene.  A  short  time 
before  the  picket  column  started  Colonel  Robins  of  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Virginia  Cavalry  rode  down  to  our  bivouac.  Being  a 
veteran  of  many  campaigns,  a  most  accomplished  soldier,  and 
not  having  been  engaged  that  day,  General  Butler,  feeling  some 
anxiety  on  account  of  the  inexperience  of  the  troops  sent  on 
picket  and  the  indisposition  of  the  captain  in  command,  requested 
Colonel  Robins  to  accompany  them,  see  them  located  for  the 
night,  etc.,  and  report  back  to  him.  Colonel  Robins  very  cheer 
fully  consented  and  rode  at  the  head  of  the  column  to  the  point 
where  the  picket  post  might  be  established.  This  arrangement 
made  us  feel  reasonably  secure  for  the  night.  We  were  spreading 
our  blankets  under  the  large  trees  bordering  the  cross  roads  at 
Old  Cold  Harbor  when,  without  a  word  of  warning  or  report 
of  trouble,  we  heard  the  rush  of  horsemen  coming  on  us  like  a 
cyclone  from  a  clear  sky.  Imagine  our  surprise  and  astonishment 
when  the  troops  sent  on  picket  came  rushing  down  upon  us,  in  a 
wild  stampede,  through  tree  laps,  over  fences,  ditches  and  every 
thing  in  their  path.  General  Butler  naturally  supposing  that  the 
Yankee  cavalry  was  after  the  picket  detail,  ordered  staff,  couriers, 
escort,  everything  in  reach,  to  throw  themselves  across  the  road, 
pistol  in  hand,  to  stop  if  possible  the  stampede.  Meantime  dis 
patching  Nat  Butler,  his  aid-de-camp,  to  order  up  the  Fifth 
South  Carolina  Cavalry  Regiment  at  the  double  quick.  This 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  229 

splendid  regiment  responded  quickly  and  was  promptly  deployed 
in  our  front.  An  incident  happened  in  one  of  the  other  regi 
ments.  I  do  not  care  to  record  further  than  to  state  that  about 
the  time  Nat  got  into  the  camp  a  loose  horse  of  one  of  the  stam- 
peders  rushed  wildly  into  the  camp  and  a  pistol  fired  accidentally 
from  one  of  the  holsters  on  the  horse,  caused  a  good  many  of  the 
men  to  take  to  the  bushes.  However,  the  Fifth  came  up  without 
a  "bauble''  and  soon  restored  order.  We  stopped  as  many  of  the 
stampeders  as  possible,  but  learned  afterwards  that  a  number  of 
the  Georgia  battalion  in  their  flight  got  as  far  back  as  Mechanics- 
ville.  When  Colonel  Robins  got  back,  returning  deliberately,  he 
explained  that  the  unexpected  happened,  and  that  when  the 
Yankee  vidette  fired  on  the  aproaching  column  of  Confederates, 
they  broke  into  a  wild  stampede.  That  it  was  the  most  inexcus 
able,  unaccountable  performance  he  had  ever  known  or  heard  of ; 
that  there  was  not  the  slightest  excuse  or  reason  for  it,  except  the 
one  shot  from  the  Yankee  vidette  a  long  distance  off.  We  soon 
restored  order  and  General  Butler  thanked  Colonel  Robins  for 
his  services  and  we  found  our  blankets  for  the  remainder  of  the 
night.  I  have  gone  somewhat  more  into  detail  describing  this 
fiasco  than  perhaps  its  importance  justifies,  but  a  good  deal  was 
said  at  the  time  about  "a  stampede  in  Butler's  brigade  near  Cold 
Harbor,"  when  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  had  only  thirty  men  in  it, 
and  they  claimed  that  being  behind  in  the  column,  they  were  run 
over  by  the  men  of  the  Georgia  battalion  of  Young's  brigade. 
This  battalion  was  not  a  wyorthy  member  of  that  dashing,  splen 
did  command,  which  have  never  before  known  what  a  stampede 
was.  From  that  day  to  this  I  have  never  heard  what  became  of 
that  captain — I  hope  he  found  the  doctor ! 

Young's  brigade,  composed  of  the  Cob  legion,  full  regiment; 
Jeff  Davis  legion,  six  troops;  Phillips'  legion,  six  troops,  and 
Seventh  Georgia  cavalry,  was  one  of  the  crack  brigades  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  I  do  not  think  the  stampeded  bat 
talion  had  joined  the  brigade  up  to  the  time  of  the  Cold  Harbor 
incident.  The  30th  of  May,  1864,  was  an  eventful  day  of  an 
eventful  year.  It  simply  fell  to  our  lot  to  uncover  and  for  a  time 
check  one  of  Grant's  most  important  movements.  It  is  quite  safe 
to  assume  that  others  under  like  conditions  and  circumstances 
would  have  done  as  well,  and  I  trust  that  the  survivors  of  other 


230  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

commands  will  make  a  record  of  the  part  they  played  on  that  day. 
After  the  30th  of  May  we  were  engaged  almost  daily  in  fierce 
combats  with  the  enemy  as  a  part  of  that  great  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  in  its  matchless  defense  of  Richmond  until  Trevillians, 
on  the  llth  and  12th  days  of  June,  just  eight  and  nine  days  after 
Cold  Harbor,  and  what  followed  of  which  in  previous  papers 
I  have  endeavored  to  give  an  accurate  account.  If  I  have  com 
mitted  errors,  and  they  are  thought  worthy  of  correction,  I  should 
welcome  the  corrections. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  231 


THE  GREY  HORSE  "ARAB" 

On  the  loth  of  March,  1901,  General  Butler  wrote  to  his  old 
scout,  Prioleau  Henderson,  about  "Arab,"  the  fine  little  horse  that 
carried  Henderson  so  many  miles  during  the  campaign  in  Vir 
ginia  and  elsewhere  in  the  late  War  of  Secession.  "You  rode 
Arab  on  the  raid  made  by  General  Stuart  in  October,  1862,  across 
the  Potomac  River,  around  McClellan's  Army,  through  Mercers- 
burg,  Chambersburg— near  Gettysburg — and  through  Emmetts- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  back  to  the  Potomac,  which  we  crossed  at 
White's  Ford  not  long  after  sunrise.  The  march  of  the  day  and 
night  from  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  where  we  spent  the  night,  to 
Leesburg,  Va.,  measured  ninety-six  miles.  We  made  this  march 
in  less  than  thirty  hours.  As  I  now  recall  the  facts,  your 
horse,  Arab,  and  a  horse  ridden  by  Colonel  Jenifer  of  Stuart's 
staff,  were  the  only  two  in  the  entire  column  that  made  this 
ninety-six  miles  without  change." 

God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  and  so  does  He 
create  men  and  horses  with  great  fortitude  and  endurance  for 
war.  On  the  22nd  Ma^r,  1901,  General  Hampton  wrote  the  fol 
lowing  to  the  veteran  scout  about  Arab:  "If  your  good  little 
horse  Arab  does  give  an  autobiography  he  will  surely  deserve  an 
equestrian  statue,  for  he  saw  more  of  the  war  between  the  North 
and  South,  I  am  sure,  than  any  other  living  horse.  I  remember 
him  well,  and  when  I  last  saw  him  he — like  his  master — was  ac 
tive  in  the  political  campaign  of  '76  in  our  State." 

Recently  the  writer  of  this  sketch  dropped  a  line  to  his  old 
comrade  to  let  him  "ride"  Arab — that  is  to  say — to  copy  a  few 
notes  from  what  Arab  saw,  and  he  answers  from  Walterboro, 
S.  C.,  1st  August,  190T: 

Dear  Comrade:  Your  favor  of  30th  July  to  hand.  You  are 
welcome  to  ride  Arab  as  much  as  you  choose.  Arab  says:  "We 
were  near  Greenwood  Church,  Va.  A  great  Yankee  regiment  were 
returning  to  their  camp  from  a  scout.  We  saw  them  before  they 
got  to  the  fort  at  the  run.  Mikler  concealed  his  men  in  the  thick 
pines  at  the  back  of  the  run,  and  wraited  until  they  rode  in  and 
halted  to  water  their  horses,  when  he  ordered  his  men  to  fire. 


232  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Imagine  the  scene  that  ensued.  Miklers  intention  was  to  fire  on 
them  and  'then  get  away.'  But  seeing  such  a*  stampede  among 
them  he  ordered  a  charge,  and  we  ran  them  into  their  picket  lines 
near  Dumfries.  O !  what  a  glorious  race  it  was.  We  found  the 
killed  and  wounded  all  along  the  route,  as  we  returned  from  the 
pursuit  with  our  prisoners.  It  was  a  four  or  five-mile  race.  The 
only  horse  I  knew  that  could  outrun  me  that  day  was  Shool- 
bred's,  a  large  and  beautiful  bay,  with  flowing  mane  and  tail  and 
black  legs.  His  name  was  Don.  Don's  master  loved  him  like  a 
brother  and  had  ridden  him  from  the  beginning  of  the  wrar. 
Jack  Shoolbred,  in  the  latter  part  of  1863,  while  in  a  house,  the 
Yankees  surrounded  it  and  captured  him  and  his  fine  horse,  Don, 
but  Jack  never  could  recapture  him  as  he  was  ridden  during  the 
remainder  of  the  war  by  the  adjutant  of  the  Eighth  Illinois 
Cavalry,  who  was  not  required  to  do  picket  duty.  Jack  escaped 
that  night." 

Milder  remarked  one  day  that  he  was  going  down  to  stir  up 
the  First  Michigan  Cavalry,  which  was  making  daily  scouts  to 
Brentsville,  Occuquon  and  other  places.  One  morning  he  saw  a 
squad  of  ten  Yankees  just  across  the  river,  so  he  got  Mr.  Brad 
ford  to  pilot  him  to  a  blind  ford  about  a  mile  above  in  order  to 
take  them  in  the  rear.  After  getting  across  Mikler  told  his  men : 
"Now,  boys;  follow  me  close  and  we  will  capture  this  squad  if 
there  is  not  a  larger  force  in  sight."  Upon  striking  the  open  field 
Mikler  halted  to  form  his  men,  and  only  four  were  so  far  advanced 
—Mikler,  Hogan,  Hanly  and  Henderson.  Mikler  said:  "Boys, 
there  are  only  ten  of  them.  Draw  your  pistols  and  follow  me." 
The  Yankees,  instead  of  charging  the  four  scouts,  sat  up^on  their 
horses  with  Sharp's  rifles  and  fired,  missing  every  one  of  our 
boys,  who  rode  up  and  emptied  three  saddles  and  kept  in  close 
pursuit  of  the  other  seven  flying  horsemen.  After  a  short  dis 
tance  they  dropped  two  more  from  their  saddles,  captured  four 
and  ran  the  lieutenant  down  and  caught  him.  Hanly,  after  doing 
good  service  with  the  "Iron  Scouts,"  and  not  having  the  fear  of 
God  before  his  eyes  and  being  instigated  by  the  devil,  deserted 
and  joined  Wilson's  United  States  Cavalry  and  was  captured  by 
our  cavalry  the  latter  part  of  June,  1864,  but  made  his  escape 
the  very  night  of  the  capture. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  233 

Some  time  after  this  the  Iron  Scouts  left  Prince  William 
County  and  went  to  Mosby's  Confederacy  in  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains.  Mosby  was  a  tall  and  rather  thin  man,  perfectly 
erect,  clean-shaven  face,  keen  piercing  gray  eyes  that  looked  like 
he  could  see  through  you,  dressed  in  a  Confederate  major's  uni 
form,  rather  the  worse  for  wear,  a  black  hat  and  feather,  with  a 
splendid  pair  of  cavalry  boots,  a  pair  of  Colt's  army  pistols 
around  his  waist,  his  coattails  worn  and  ragged  on  each  side  from 
constant  rubbing  of  his  pistols.  Mosby  invited  the  Iron  Scouts 
to  join  him  in  a  little  fun,  which  they  gladly  accepted.  Mosby 
gave  but  few  orders  and  when  they  started  back  to  Prince  Wil- 
lim  and  Fauquier  Counties  Mosby  had  about  ninety  or  one  hun 
dred  men  and  Milder  about  nineteen.  When  they  left  Warrenion 
Court  House  for  the  junction,  about  nine  miles  away,  Mosby's 
scouts  reported  that  a  body  of  the  enemy  were  encamped  not 
far  off.  Mosby  soon  gave  the  order  to  follow  him,  and  away  they 
went,  but  soon  found  that  they  had  charged  into  an  encampment 
of  Yankee  infantry  instead  of  cavalry.  Mosby  retired  without 
the  loss  of  a  man  and  brought  off  a  few  prisoners.  From  these 
prisoners  Mosby  ascertained  that  the  First  Virginia  Yankee 
Cavalry  were  encamped  in  the  houses  at  the  junction.  Within 
a  mile  of  the  junction  Mosby  gave  the  command:  "Follow  me." 
The  first  to  reach  the  junction  were  Mosby,  Mikler,  Gillespie, 
Thornwell  and  Sim  Miller,  with  perhaps  a  half  dozen  of  Mosby's 
men,  the  main  body  perhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  the 
rear.  Mosby's  men  dashed  up  in  front  of  the  house,  the  men 
with  cocked  pistols,  when  as  sudden  as  a  flash  of  lightning  from  a 
cloud  came  a  sheet  of  fire  from  doors  and  windows.  Mosby 
ordered  his  men  to  dismount  and  charge  the  house,  while  he  him 
self  stood  at  one  of  the  windows  shooting  inside.  Mosby  then 
led  the  charge  upstairs,  fighting  his  way  up  step  by  step  until 
he  reached  the  top  floor  where  the  Yankee  officer  was  killed. 
Mosby  and  Mikler  walked  down  stairs  after  killing  and  capturing 
everything  in  the  house  and  were  sitting  on  their  horses  waiting 
for  their  men  to  get  the  captured  Yankees  and  horses  in  shape, 
when  a  regiment  of  Yankee  cavalry,  the  Eighth  New  York,  sur 
prised  them,  and  then  the  thing  to  do  was  to  get  away  if  possible ; 
and  then  another  regiment  of  cavalry,  the  Fifth  New  York,  came 
up  and  recaptured  everything  and  killed  and  captured  some  of 


234  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Mikler's  and  Mosby's  men.  In  getting  away  Gillespie  Thornwell 
was  mortally  wounded  and  taken  by  the  enem^  to  Alexandria, 
Va.  Sim  Miller  was  badly  wounded  and  was  with  Gillespie 
Thornwell  when  he  died.  Sim  is  now  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miller  of  the 
Baptist  persuasion.  Arab  was  shot  in  the  thigh.  Prioleau  Hen 
derson  rode  him  to  Mr.  Williams'  house  and  got  a  Yankee  horse 
which  he  had  left  there.  Mr.  Williams  put  Arab  in  a  secluded 
pasture  where  he  soon  recuperated.  About  two  weeks  after  this 
a  squad  of  Yankees  rode  up  to  the  pasture  and  Arab  jumped  the 
fence  and  outran  the  whole  business.  He  could  not  stand  the 
sight  of  a  bluecoat.  This  horse  acted  like  he  had  reason.  The 
Yankees  rode  up  to  Mr.  Williams'  house  and  said:  "What  kind 
of  a  d — d  old  gray  horse  on  three  legs  was  that  we  got  a  glimpse 
of  in  your  pasture  ?  If  he  keeps  on  running  like  he  did  when  we 
last  saw  him  he  will  be  in  Washington  city  by  this  time."  In 
January,  1863,  a  Yankee  cavalryman  deserted  and  reported  to 
Mosby  for  duty,  and  he  proved  to  be  one  of  the  truest  and  best 
men  in  this  celebrated  command. 

One  of  the  most  daring  scouts  in  any  army  was  a  Texan  named 
Burke.  On  one  occasion  Mikler's  scouts  were  in  a  thicket  of  pines 
between  Bristow  Station  and  Catlett's  watching  the  railroad  to 
see  from  the  numbers  of  the  enemy  if  there  was  any  chance  to 
make  a  dash  upon  them.  As  the  scouts  were  about  leaving,  some 
one  said:  "Here  comes  another  detachment."  When  Henegan 
said :  "Look,  Sergeant,  at  that  officer  on  the  right  at  the  head  of 
the  column,  don't  you  recognize  him."  All  of  them  looked  closely 
in  the  direction  indicated  and  readily  recognized  in  the  would- 
be  Yankee  major,  Burke,  "the  Texas  scout"  of  General  R.  E.  Lee. 
Burke  told  Prioleau  Henderson  on  one  occasion  "that  he  had 
three  passes,  one  from  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  one  from  General 
Meade,  chief  in  command  of  the  Federal  army,  and  another  from 
General  Pleasanton,  in  command  of  the  Union  cavalry. 

In  the  autumn  of  1863  Dick  Hogan,  Barney  Henegan,  Prioleau 
Henderson,  Jack  Shoolbred  and  another  scout  rode  up  to  Mrs. 
Maxfield's  house  one  day  about  11  o'clock  A.  M.  and  found  that 
the  enemy  had  just  left  after  robbing  her  of  everything  they 
could  lay  hands  on — chickens,  ducks,  geese,  bacon,  flour,  potatoes 
and  even  her  sheets  and  wearing  apparel.  They  told  her  that  she 
had  been  harboring  Hampton's  scouts  and  they  intended  to  break 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  235 

it  up.  There  were  seven  in  the  Yankee  squad  and  five  of  the  Iron 
Scouts,-  who  took  a  near  cut  on  them,  and  at  Mr.  Trenniss'  house 
they  caught  sight  of  them.  Now  the  race  began.  The  Yanks 
threw  away  everything  they  had  stolen.  Our  scouts  killed  two, 
wounded  three,  captured  one  and  only  one  escaped. 

One  afternoon  Bill  Milder,  Barney  Henegan  and  Prioleau 
Henderson  were  riding  along  down  near  the  Stafford  County 
line.  Just  before  sunset  they  started  across  a  field  for  a  house. 
The  horses  of  Mikler  and  Henderson  jumped  the  fence,  but  Hene 
gan  dismounted  and  let  the  fence  down,  and  just  as  he  mounted 
his  sorrel  mare,  Emma,  after  going  over,  two  Yankees  rode  up 
beside  him,  one  on  each  side,  both  questioning  him  as  to  what 
command  he  belonged  to.  Barney  called  Hogan  and  said:  "It 
flashed  through  my  mind  in  an  instant  to  pull  them  off  their 
horses.  I  did  so,  and  here  they  are/'  He  got  each  by  his  neck 
and  held  them  tight  while  their  horses  walked  from  under  them. 
Barney  was  six  feet  four  inches  high  and  was  a  perfect  athlete 
with  not  a  surplus  pound  of  flesh  and  was  about  27  years  old. 
Barney  Henegan  was  the  very  life  of  the  scouts.  AVhen  any  of 
them  got  into  trouble  among  themselves  Barney  would  throw  oil 
upon  the  troubled  waters  and  everything  was  amicably  adjusted. 
He  was  the  peacemaker.  Barney  studied  law  before  the  war  and 
was  quite  a  war  orator.  He  would  frequently  appear  before  the 
court  martial  and  would  frequently  out  talk  them  all  when  his 
friends  were  in  trouble.  Once  he  beat  General  Stuart  in  a  speerh 
and  got  his  man  off — and  Barney  was  the  man.  He  departed 
this  life  about  twenty  years  ago. 

"When  marble  wears  away, 

And  monuments  are  dust, 
The  songs  that  guard  our  soldiers'  clay 
Will  still  fulfil  their  trust." 


236  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


BATTLE  AT  TREVILLIAN  STATION 

"Memory  crowds  and  the  shadows  luminous  and  gray  file  before 
me."  Time  is  always  snatching  something  from  us;  its  fleeting 
moments  pass  as  quickly  as  they  come,  never,  never  more  to  re 
turn,  as  water  which  is  gone  from  its  source  runs  to  it  no  more. 

The  Confederate  soldiers  course  is  almost  run  out,  the  past  time 
appears  as  a  shadow ;  so  will  that  which  is  now  to  come,  when  it 
shall  be  once  over,  and  no  tears,  no  entreaties,  no  endeavors  can 
recall  the  least  moment  we  have  already  let  slip  unimproved; 
therefore  it  is  our  duty  to  record  the  gallant  deeds  of  our  brave 
comrades  who  fell  on  the  bloody  fields  of  strife,  battling  under 
the  Confederate  flag  which  waved  so  proudly  over  our  Confed 
eracy  for  four  long  years.  Should  we  fail  to  do  this,  then  why 
find  fault  with  those  who  fought  us  so  hard  and  so  long  for  not 
giving  us  justice  in  writing  up  the  part  they  took  in  this  terrible 
strife?  Every  heroic  virtue  grew  in  the  matchless  inspiration 
of  the  war.  Every  noble  quality  flourished  in  the  stern  and  splen 
did  discipline  of  these  unrelenting  years.  Courage,  patience,  sen 
timent,  devotion,  duty,  unselfishness  and  deathless  patriotism 
flashed  like  radiant  stars  across  the  gloom  and  darkness  of  the 
time.  Men  learned  there  to  love  their  country  better  than  them 
selves  and  to  pledge  their  loyalty  freely  with  their  lives.  Women 
raised  in  luxury  forgot  their  selfish  comforts  in  their  solemn 
duties,  and  the  white  hands  of  fashion  swept  the  looms  of  labor 
and  fastened  the  bandages  'of  blood  with  a  self-denying  heroism 
that  was  indeed  sublime.  "When  triumphs  came  they  rejoiced 
with  reverent  gratitude,  they  met  disasters  in  their  turn  with 
dignity." 

The  most  decisive  cavalry  fight  that  ever  occurred  on  this 
continent  was  fought  at  Trevillian  Station,  Virginia,  on  the 
llth  and  12th  days  of  June,  1864.  The  hero  of  this  fight  was 
General  M.  C.  Butler,  who  was  then  about  27  years  old.  and  was 
one  of  the  most  dashing  figures  seen  in  this  most  terrible  struggle. 
At  the  head  of  his  old  brigade,  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  moulded  like  an  Apollo,  with  a  face  as  sweet 
and  handsome  as  that  of  any  god  of  old,  he  sat  on  his  horse  like 


LIEUT.   MAT.  J.   HOUGH 


REV.    DOWLING 


LIEUT.    MIMS    SULLIVAN 


JOHN    BAUSKETT 
JARRARD    D.    SULLIVAN 


Gallqnt  Jarrard  Sullivan,   Orderly  Sergeant  Company  A,   Sixth  S.   C.   Cavalry,   rode  at 
head  of  regiment  wherever  it  went. 


238  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

a  typical  South  Carolina  cavalier;  gentle  as  any  fawn  when  com 
rades  were  assembled  in  social  converse,  fierce  as  a  veteran  grena 
dier  when  the  foe  was  to  be  met  face  to  face.  His  plume  always 
showed  in  the  lead  where  calm  judgment  of  a  soldier  was  needed 
or  the  dash  of  a  knight  ready  to  face  any  odds  was  called  for. 

On  Wednesday,  the  8th  of  June,  our  scouts — Shadbourne, 
Shoolbred,  Miller,  Scott,  Hogan  and  others — reported  to 
Generals  Hampton  and  Butler,  who  were  then  on  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  that  a  large  body  of  Yankee  cavalry  had  moved  out 
from  behind  Grant's  lines  and  was  then  crossing  the  Pamunky 
at  a  point  heading  northward.  General  Butler  received  orders 
to  draw  three  days'  rations  for  his  men,  which  consisted  of  about 
one  and  a  half  pounds  of  hard  tack  and  a  half  pound  of  bacon, 
that  had  to  be  eaten  raw  while  in  the  saddle,  as  we  were  only 
allowed  time  to  stop  long  enough  to  graze  our  horses  from  12  M. 
to  2  P.  M.  every  day  and  from  12  to  2  A.  M.  at  night.  We  had 
no  time  to  unsaddle  for  eight  days  and  nights,  and  the  saddle  up 
call  soon  sounded  again.  We  moved  on  the  morning  of  the  9th 
towards  Gordonsville  in  the  following  order :  Hampton's  Division 
of  Cavalry,  composed  of  Rosser's,  Butler's  and  Young's  brigades, 
the  latter  commanded  by  Colonel  J.  G.  Wright,  ("Old  Gid"  as 
the  boys  called  him),  of  the  Cobb  legion  in  front.  Fitz  Lee's 
division,  composed  of  Lomax's  and  Wickham's  brigades,  came 

next. 

"And  they  rode  forth  so  glorious  in  array, 

So  mannerly  and  full  of  gentle  grace, 
That  every  tongue  would  be  compelled  to  say 
They  were  the  noblest  of  a  noble  race." 

Upon  General  Hampton^  the  ranking  Major-General  of  Cav 
alry  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  the  command  devolved. 
The  first  night  after  leaving  camp  we  grazed  our  horses,  as  stated 
above,  half  way  between  Richmond  and  Trevillian  Station  on  the 
Virginia  Central  Railroad,  the  second  night  of  the  march  we 
reached  Trevillian.  Our  division  halted  thus :  Rosser  up  the  road 
towards  Gordonsville,  Butler  near  the  station,  Wright  just  be 
hind  and  Fitz.  Lee  still  further  back  near  Louisa  Court  House. 

It  is  proper  to  state  in  this  connection  that  before  leaving  the 
neighborhood  of  Richmond  reports  had  been  brought  in  to  Gen 
eral  R.  E.  Lee,  ("Mars  Robert",)  that  General  Phil.  Sheridan 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  239 

was  moving  towards  Gordonsville  as  was  supposed  at  the  time  to 
join  Hunter,  who  was  coining  up  the  valley  with  a  strong  force 
to  attack  Lynchburg.  If  the  junction  of  Hunter's  and  Sheridan's 
columns  had  been  accomplished  the  plan  evidently  was  to  attack 
Richmond  from  the  rear  and  compel  General  Lee  to  abandon  his 
lines  of  defense.  This  same  Yankee  General  Hunter,  a  Virginian, 
is  the  man  who  burnt  the  barracks  of  the  Virginia  Military  In 
stitute.  General  Early  was  sent  by  rail  with  his  division  or 
corps  to  intercept  Hunter  and  General  Hampton  with  the  two 
divisions  of  cavalry  to  stop  Sheridan.  Hunter  was  turned  back 
by  Early,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  sequel.  Sheridan  met  a  crush 
ing  defeat  by  Hampton  at  and  near  Trevillian  Station.  I  have 
in  a  previous  chapter  given  an  account  of  Gregg's  defeat  near 
Samaria  Church  on  the  24th  of  June,  and  Wilson's  defeat  near 
Sappony  Church  on  the  28th  of  June,  1864.  Just  sixteen  days 
after  Trevillian  Station,  how  completely  he  was  routed  and  had 
to  flee  for  his  life — these  three  simultaneous  movements  by  Grant, 
strong,  formidable,  led  by  his  best  officers,  I  suppose  in  military 
parlance,  would  be  styled  "grand  tactics,"  bold  in  conception  but 
in  execution  dismal  failures.  Grant  underestimated  the  genius  of 
his  great  antagonist  and  incomparable  qualities  of  his  Confeder 
ate  soldiers.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  will  leave  it  to  be  decided  by 
the  military  historians  and  critics  who  come  after  us. 

On  Friday  night  of  the  10th  of  June,  after  the  last  of  our  hard 
tack  and  raw  meat  had  been  devoured,  ammunition  was  issued 
and  at  daylight  we  were  in  motion.  Jim  Quattlebaum  and 
myself  were  on  picket  that  night,  and  to  say  that  we  were  hungry 
and  mad  would  not  exactly  express  it.  You  may  be  sure  staff  and 
couriers  had  all  they  could  do  that  night.  The  division  was 
mounted  on  time,  ammunition  distributed,  rifles  slung  ready  for 
the  fray.  We  waited  in  this  attitude  until  about  sunrise.  General 
Rosser  rode  down  to  General  Butler's  headquarters,  and  being  on 
the  qui  vive  for  news,  the  staff  and  couriers  heard  the  following 
colloquy  between  Rosser  and  Butler — devoted  friends:  "Butler, 
what  is  Hampton  going  to  do  here  today?"  "D — d  if  I  know," 
replied  Butler.  "We  have  been  up  mounted  since  daylight  and 
my  men  and  horses  are  being  worsted  by  non-action."  "Let's  ride 
down,"  said  Rosser,  "and  enquire  what  Hampton's  plans  are." 
"All  right,"  said  Butler,  and  after  extending  an  order  to  dis- 


240  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

mount  and  "stand  to  horse,"  the  two  set  out  to  find  General 
Hampton.  The  general  was  lying  on  a  carpenter's  bench  or  table 
in  the  horse  lot  in  an  oak  grove  in  front  of  the  house,  where  he 
had  made  his  headquarters.  As  the  two  youitg  and  handsome 
brigadiers  dismounted  and  approached  General  Hampton,  he 
rose  and  greeted  his  two  subordinates  in  a  most  cordial  and 
friendly  manner.  Rosser  spoke  first  and  remarked:  "General, 
what  do  you  propose  to  do  here  today,  if  I  may  enquire."  Hamp 
ton  replied:  "I  propose  to  fight,"  thereupon  Butler  suggested 
"that  the  surrounding  country  being  thickly  wooded,  did  not 
seem  a  suitable  field  for  the  operation  and  maneuvering  of  cav 
alry."  This  suggestion  appears  to  have  impressed  General  Hamp 
ton,  for  he  at  once  replied :  "Well,  let's  ride  out  and  reconnoitre  a 
little."  The  two  mounted,  and  followed  by  staff  and  couriers, 
moved  in  the  direction  of  Butler's  outposts.  Rosser  returned  to 
his  command.  To  make  the  situation  clear,  it  is  proper  to  state 
just  here  that  our  (Butler's)  brigade  was  picketing  in  our  im 
mediate  front  nearest  to  the  Yankees,  the  other  commands  above 
and  below.  Generals  Hampton  and  Butler  had  not  gone  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  they  met  Captain  Milligan  of 
the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  coming  in  rather  hurriedly 
with  his  squadron.  He  had  been  picketing  in  our  front  and 
reported  that  he  had  been  driven  in  by  a  strong  force  of  Sheri 
dan's  cavalry.  This  information  appears  to  have  decided  General 
Hampton  as  to  his  action,  who  thereupon  directed  General  Butler 
to  bring  his  brigade  up  and  attack  Sheridan,  saying  he  would 
hold  Young's  brigade  in  reserve  to  support  him  on  either  flank, 
if  the  situation  made  it  necessary ;  that  Fitz.  Lee's  division  would 
be  ordered  to  move  up  and,  support  him  on  the  right,  that  Rosser 
was  up  the  road,  for  any  emergency  that  might  arise  in  that 
direction.  General  Butler  thereupon  promptly  ordered  his 
brigade  in  to  attack.  He  first  sent  forward  Captain  Snowden 
with  a  squadron  from  the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry  and 
directed  him  to  charge  any  force  of  the  enemy  he  might  encoun 
ter  and  thus  develop  his  strength.  Snowden  moved  forward  in 
gallant  style,  charged  at  the  first  sight  of  the  enemy,  and  ascer 
tained  the  fact  that  they  were  in  strong  force  in  our  front.  The 
country  was  thickly  wooded  and  General  Butler  dismounted  his 
entire  brigade,  except  one  squadron,  and  pushed  in  with  our  long- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  241 

range  Enfield  rifles,  Colonel  B.  H.  Rutledge  commanding  the  left 
wing,  Colonel  Hugh  Aiken  the  right,  Colonel  John  Dunovant  of 
the  Fifth  Regiment  South  Carolina  Cavalry  being  absent  suf 
fering  from  a  wound  received  at  Halves'  Shop  28th  May,  1864. 
Major  Jos.  H.  Morgan  was  in  command  and  was  in  the  center. 

We  drove  Sheridan's  troops  a  half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
through  the  woods,  momentarily  expecting  support  on  the  right. 
General  Butler  was  sitting  in  a  blind  road  in  the  woods  about 
the  centre  of  his  brigade  in  line  of  battle,  the  firing  on  both  sides 
being  fast  and  furious,  when  the  following  incident  occurred: 
One  squadron  of  the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Regiment,  under 
Captain  Barber,  was  about  to  give  way.  General  Butler,  with 
staff  and  couriers,  spurred  his  horse  into  the  woods,  checked  the 
confusion,  realigned  the  regiment  and  pushed  it  forward.  I 
would  not  like  to  see  in  cold  type  some  of  his  expressions,  brought 
forth  by  the  incident.  However,  it  was  all  over  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  the  whole  line  moved  forward.  When  we  returned  to  the 
road  we  discovered  a  Yankee  officer  mounted  about  thirty  steps 
from  where  we  were  stationed.  He  had  evidently  been  separated 
from  his  command.  Two  of  the  couriers,  Henry  Watson  being 
one  of  them,  jumped  from  their  horses,  presented  their  carbines, 
and  were  about  to  fire  on  the  officer,  when  General  Butler  gave 
them  a  sharp  order  not  to  fire,  at  the  same  time  calling  to  the 
officer  to  ride  out  to  where  we  were.  He  promptly  did  so,  and 
but  for  the  order  to  the  couriers  he  would  have  been  a  dead  man 
in  short  order.  It  turned  out  to  be  Captain  Charles  Loeser  of 
the  Second  Yankee  Dragoons  Regular  Cavalry,  and  we  overheard 
the  following  colloquy :  General  Butler  ordered  him  to  dismount, 
that  he  was  a  prisoner  and  must  deliver  up  his  arms  and  horse, 
meantime  introducing  himself.  It  was  the  work  of  a  few  min 
utes  when  this  part  of  the  ceremony  was  disposed  of,  and  in 
handing  his  sword  to  General  Butler  asked  permission  to  break  it, 
very  much  mortified  at  the  dilemma  in  which  he  found  himself. 
The  General  said  very  quietly:  "No,  sir;  I  cannot  permit  that," 
and  then  enquired  how  he  happened  to  be  separated  from  his 
command.  Captain  Loeser  (afterwards  we  learned  was  promoted 
to  lieutenant  colonel)  explained  that  his  regiment  had  charged 
and  driven  back  a  part  of  our  line  and  upon  our  rallying,  renew 
ing  our  forward  movement,  we  had  driven  his  regiment  in  some 

16 — B.    C. 


242  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

confusion,  and  he  became  separated  in  the  thick  woods.  He  was 
a  very  handsome-looking  soldier,  very  much  mortified  and  hu 
miliated.  General  Butler  tried  to  relieve  this  by  some  pleasant 
remarks,  what  any  soldier  might  expect  in  battfe,  that  there  was 
no  disgrace  attached  to  it,  etc.,  etc.  And  now  comes  a  part  of  the 
incident  that  partook  somewhat  of  the  comical  as  well  as  tragic. 
Captain  Loeser  asked  General  Butler  if  General  Rosser  was  any 
where  in  the  neighborhood,  and  upon  being  informed  that  he  was, 
requested  to  be  sent  to  him,  as  he  was  at  West  Point  with  him, 
and  as  he  had  a  great  horror  of  being  robbed  as  a  prisoner,  he 
thought  he  would  get  better  treatment  in  the  hands  of  his  West 
Point  chum.  General  Butler  remarked  he  should  not  be  molested 
while  under  his  charge,  but  that  he  would  send  him,  under  guard, 
to  General  Rosser,  saying  at  the  same  time,  that  he  would  have 
to  take  possession  of  his  horse,  accoutrements  and  arms,  as  they 
were  legitimate  captures,  etc.  To  this  Captain  Loeser  readily 
assented  and  remarked  that  his  mount,  a  handsome  chestnut 
sorrel  mare,  was  "played  out"  (we  were  all  played  out  in  that 
sense).  General  Butler  then  directed  his  brother  and  aid-de 
camp,  Lieutenant  Nat  Butler,  the  handsomest  boy  in  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  to  conduct  Captain  Loeser  to  General  Rosser 
with  his  compliments,  meantime  to  see  to  it  that  nobody  inter- 
f erred  with  his  prisoner.  Nat  rather  protested,  unwilling  I  sup 
pose  to  leave  his  chief  in  the  midst  of  such  a  fierce  fight.  General 
Butler  then  sent  to  Captain  John  C.  Calhoun,  whose  company 
was  mounted,  directing  him  to  detail  a  non-commissioned  officer 
to  report  to  him.  Corporal  Sheppard,  from  one  of  the  mountain 
counties,  Anderson,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  a  tall,  square-built 
young  fellow.  Captain  Loeser  was  turned  over  to  him  and 
started  to  find  Rosser,  with  the  same  orders  given  to  Nat. 

Sheppard  reported  that  when  he  reached  the  Gordonsville 
road  he  halted  with  Captain  Loeser  in  a  fence  corner  when  he 
saw  the  head  of  Rosser's  column  coming  down  the  road  with 
Captain  Jim  Thompson's  battery  of  horse  artillery  in  front. 
When  they  discovered  the  "Yankee  officer"  sitting  in  the  fence 
corner,  one  of  Thompson's  men  rode  up  and  said :  "Hello,  Yank,  I 
want  them  boots."  Sheppard  remonstrated,  repeating  General 
Butler's  orders,  whereupon  the  artilleryman  replied:  "I  don't 
care  a  d — d  about  General  Butler's  orders,"  and  they  went  through 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  243 

Captain  Loeser  in  the  house  of  his  friends,  took  about  all  of  his 
personal  effects,  changed  coat,  hat  and  boots  with  him,  and  left 
him  in  a  most  forlorn  condition  to  meet  his  West  Point  asso 
ciate.  Of  course  General  Rosser  knew  nothing  about  the  treat 
ment  of  his  Yankee  friend  until  he  had  been  metamorphosed. 
General  Butler  regretted  afterwards  he  had  not  allowed  Captain 
Loeser  to  break  his  sword,  as  we  found  after  he  had  gone  it  had 
been  presented  to  him  by  a  lady  whose  name  was  engraved  on 
the  brass  hilt,  and  who  we  learned  he  afterwards  married.  Let 
us  go  back  a  little.  Soon  after  the  capture  of  Captain  Loeser 
General  Butler  received  a  message  from  Colonel  Rutledge,  in 
command  of  the  left  wing,  that  he  was  being  flanked  and  to 
send  him  reinforcements.  General  Butler  turned  very  coolly 
to  the  messenger  and  said:  "Give  my  compliments  to  Colonel 
Rutledge  and  tell  him  to  flank  back."  I  heard  these  two  officers 
laughing  about  the  message,  Colonel  Rutledge  remarking  that  it 
was  the  cheekiest  order  he  had  ever  received,  that  he  was  in  the 
woods  with  his  line  stretched  out  to  the  limit,  doing  his  best  to 
take  care  of  the  enemy  in  his  front,  and  to  receive  an  order  to 
"flank  back."  The  general  replied:  "Didn't  you  know,  pressed 
as  I  was  in  front  and  on  both  flanks,  I  had  no  reinforcements 
to  send  you."  General  Butler  did  report  to  General  Hampton 
the  situation,  who  immediately  ordered  Colonel  Wright  to  re 
port  with  his  brigade  to  General  Butler,  who  ordered  him  to 
deploy  on  Rutledge's  left.  Meantime  General  Custer,  that  dash 
ing  dare-devil  cavalryman  commanding  one  of  Sheridan's 
brigades,  found  an  old  road  on  Butler's  right.  He  moved  rapidly 
past  our  right,  got  in  our  rear,  and  captured  some  of  our  men, 
a  number  of  our  led  horses  and  ambulances  and  wagons.  Two 
of  the  men  were  bravest  of  the  brave,  couriers  to  General  Hamp 
ton,  Wade  Manning  and  Alex  Taylor. 

Rosser  heard  of  this,  came  thundering  down  the  Gordonsville 
road,  charged  Custer,  another  of  his  West  Point  chums.  Rosser  led 
the  old  Laurel  brigade  in  a  pell-mell  rebel  yell  charge.  Among 
the  foremost  in  this  dashing  charge  were  Private  Charles  B. 
Rous,  Captain  McGuire,  Captain  Hatcher,  Colonel  E.  Y.  White, 
Major  P.  B.  Winston,  Major  Holmes  Conrad  and  General  Thos. 
L.  Rosser.  Of  the  Yankees  were  Color  Sergeant  John  Nash, 
Colonel  Clarke,  General  R.  A.  Alger  and  General  Custer.  When 


244  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Major  Conrad  shot  Color  Sergeant  John  Nash,  General  Custer 
saw  him  falling  with  the  United  States  flag  and  rushed  forward 
and  saved  it.  Rosser  and  Custer  were  near  enough  to  shoot  each 
other  at  this  critical  moment.  Rosser's  Confederate  flag  was 
flashing  in  the  Southern  sky. 

"On  to  death  and  glory  dashing, 
On  where  swords  were  clanging,  clashing ; 
On  where  balls  were  crushing,  crashing, 
And  Rosser's  men  won  it,  routed  and  riven, 

Reeled  the  foreman's  proud  array. 
They  had  struggled  hard  and  striven, 
Blood  in  torrents  they  had  given ; 
But  their  ranks,  dispersed  and  driven ; 
Fled  in  sullenness  away." 

Thus  Rosser  routed  Custer,  capturing  his  ambulances  and 
wagons  and  the  caissons  of  his  battery  and  many  provisions, 
besides  recapturing  everything  that  Custer  had  captured  from 
us.  I  will  here  mention  a  few  of  the  brave  men  of  the  Sixth 
South  Carolina  Cavalry  who  were  shot  near  myself:  Colonel 
Hugh  Aiken  was  shot  through  the  right  lung,  Sergeant-Major 
Oscar  Sheppard  was  mortally  wounded,  Captain  Jas.  J.  Gregg 
of  Company  B,  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  was  shot  in  the 
arm ;  Abner  Bushnell,  shot  in  the  hip.  Dick  Berry,  while  trying 
to  show  me  a  Yankee  in  the  thick  bushes,  was  shot  through  the 
arm.  Why  he  did  not  first  shoot  the  Yankee  and  then  show  him 
to  me  I  never  could  understand.  Wyly  Moyer  was  killed. 

"A  grave  in  the  woods  grass  overgrown, 

A  grave  in  the  heart  of  his  mother, 
His  clay  in  the  one  lies  lifeless  and  lone 
There  is  not  a  name,  there  is  not  a  stone, 
And  only  the  voice  of  the  wind  maketh  moan 
O'er  the  grave  where  never  a  flower  is  strewn, 
But  his  memory  lives  in  the  other." 

Lieutenant  John  Bauskett  took  command  of  Company  B  im 
mediately  after  Captain  Gregg  was  shot  and  behaved  most  gal 
lantly.  •  Lieutenant  Colonel  L.  P.  Miller  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry 
was  not  in  this  fight,  having  been  left  in  charge  of  some  dis 
mounted  men  near  Richmond. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  245 

The  gallant  Major  Tom  Ferguson  commanded  the  regiment 
after  the  brave  Aiken  fell.  Gen.  Hampton  rode  up  to  Major  Fer 
guson  and  ordered  him  to  mount  his  regiment  and  follow  him. 
We  were  surrounded  and  Hart's  battery  was  in  great  danger  of 
capture,  but  Hampton  with  our  regiment  soon  saved  the  battery 
and  cut  our  way  out  in  good  order.  The  support  that  General 
Hampton  had  promised  General  Butler  on  his  right  did  not 
materialize,  and  Custer,  mounted  as  he  was,  had  an  easy  time 
getting  round  our  right  and  rear.  Soon  after  Wright's  brigade 
got  in  position  on  Rutledge's  left,  General  Butler  received  a 
message  from  General  Hampton  to  withdraw  his  lines  and  retire 
towards  the  railroad.  I  can  never  forget  Butler's  repty.  He 
was  pressed  on  both  flanks,  with  Custer  in  his  rear,  and  he  said 
to  the  messenger  from  General  Hampton :  "Say  to  General  Hamp 
ton  it  is  hell  to  hold  on  and  hell  to  let  go.  If  I  withdraw  my 
entire  line  at  once  the  blue  coats  will  run  over  us,  and  that  the 
best  I  can  do  is  to  mount  one  regiment  at  a  time  and  grad 
ually  retire."  This  was  done  as  speedily  as  possible  and  we 
came  out  in  good  order.  I  heard  General  Butler  say  afterwards 
that  if  his  troops  had  not  been  the  finest  in  the  world  they  would 
have  become  demoralized  and  precipitated  confusion  that  might 
have  led  to  a  serious  disaster.  As  it  was,  we  got  back  to  a  large 
oak  tree  where  the  ambulances  had  been  gathered,  the  surgeon 
having  established  a  field  infirmary  there  and  were  attending  to 
the  killed  and  wounded.  Among  the  latter  was  Colonel  Hugh 
Aiken,  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  the  regiment  to  which  I 
belonged,  commanding  the  right  wing  of  Butler's  brigade.  A 
more  gallant,  fearless  soldier  never  put  a  squadron  in  the  field. 
It  was  supposed  at  the  time  his  wound  was  mortal,  but  he  re 
covered,  rejoined  his  regiment,  and  was  killed  near  old  Kellytown 
in  Darlington  County,  S.  C.,  24th  February,  1865,  while  boldly 
leading  a  reconnaissance,  Col.  Zimmerman  Davis,  of  the  Fifth 
South  Carolina  Cavalry,  was  with  Colonel  Aiken,  and  has  given 
a  vivid  and  graphic  account  of  the  fight.  At  this  field  infirmary 
Generals  Hampton  and  Butler  met  for  the  first  time  since  they 
separated  early  in  the  morning.  General  Hampton  was  very  much 
worried  at  the  situation.  He  directed  General  Butler  to  take  the 
Phillips  legion  of  Young's  brigade  and  charge  the  enemy  that 
had  collected  in  considerable  force  at  the  railroad.  The  Phillips 
legion,  in  column  of  fours,  were  near  by,  with  Captain  Buchanan 


246  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

sitting  at  the  head  of  the  column.  While  General  Butler  was 
engaged  in  throwing  forward  a  strong  line  of  mounted  skirm 
ishers  preparatory  to  making  the  charge,  the  enemy  keeping  up 
a  rapid  fire,  Captain  Buchanan  was  hit  in  the  breast  by  a  Yankee 
bullet.  He  was  taken  from  his  horse  and  was  supposed  to  be 
mortally  wounded,  but  he  recovered,  survived  the  war  and  repre 
sented  his  district  in  Georgia  in  the  United  States  Congress, 
in  which  sphere  he  distinguished  himself  as  ably  as  he  had  done 
as  a  soldier.  We  made  the  charge  with  the  Phillips  legion 
mounted  as  directed,  drove  the  Yankees  pell-mell  from  the  rail 
road.  Rosser  had  done  some  effective  work  up  the  Gordonsville 
road.  The  result  was  no  little  confusion  among  "our  friends  the 
enemy."  When  we  reached  an  eminence  near  the  railroad,  from 
which  we  could  see  in  all  directions,  the  confusion  of  Custer's 
command  was  in  full  view.  General  Butler  sent  Captain  A.  P. 
Butler  (tall  Pick)  to  find  General  Hampton  and  to  say  to  him 
if  he  would  send  a  piece  of  artillery  he  could  destroy  Custer. 
Pick  had  scarcely  got  out  of  sight  before  Butler  received  a  mes 
sage  from  General  Hampton  directing  him  to  withdraw  to  the 
field  infirmary  as  quickly  as  possible.  When  we  reached  the 
point  we  discovered  the  Yankees  moving  in  line  of  battle  towards 
us.  Here  we  witnessed  an  act  of  gallantry  worthy  of  any  sol 
dier.  Lieutenant  Long  of  my  regiment,  the  Sixth  South  Carolina, 
was  acting  as  Provost  Marshal  and  headquarters  escort  and  with 
about  thirty  men,  kept  the  enemy  in  check  until  I  could  get  the 
ambulances  with  the  dead  and  wounded  across  the  ravine  (just 
in  our  left  rear).  The  main  part  of  our  command  had  been  left 
along  the  railroad.  Long  promptly  obeyed  the  order  and 
charged  with  his  small  detachment,  cutting  and  slashing  right 
into  the  enemy  and  evidently  surprised  them  by  the  audacity 
of  his  charge.  However,  it  had  the  desired  effect,  Long  returned 
with  several  empty  saddles,  but  he  accomplished  his  purpose. 
We  succeeded  in  getting  the  ambulances  along  an  open  ridge  in 
the  face  of  a  galling  fire  across  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  ravine. 
As  we  ascended  the  hill  in  an  open  field  on  the  other  side,  General 
Butler  rode  up  to  one  of  the  guns  of  Hart's  battery  pelting  away 
at  the  Yankees.  Captain  Church,  the  gallant  and  accomplished 
Adjutant-General  of  Young's  brigade,  dashed  up  to  him  and  said : 
"General,  for  God's  sake  get  away  from  here,  that  is  the  enemy," 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  247 

pointing  towards  a  line  of  Yankees.  General  Butler  replied  that 
the  gun  must  be  saved,  ordering  the  sergeant  in  charge  to  move  up 
the  hill  towards  Rosser's  position,  meantime  concentrating  a 
sharp  fire  from  his  troops  on  the  advancing  Yankees.  Very  soon 
the  two  generals,  Butler  and  Rosser,  joined.  Each  organized  a 
line  of  battle  from  their  respective  commands  and  moved  on  the 
Yankees,  driving  them  down  the  hill.  Passing  through  a  peach 
orchard,  encouraging  their  men  in  the  fierce  contest,  Rosser  re 
ceived  a  painful  wound  in  the  right  knee,  which  required  his  men 
to  take  him  from  his  horse  and  carry  him  to  the  rear.  The 
day's  work  was  nearly  ended.  General  Butler  kept  up  the  fight 
until  after  sunset,  when  both  sides  pulled  out  for  the  night.  Thus 
ended  the  battle  of  the  llth  of  June,  1864,  not  very  satisfactory 
I  imagine  on  either  side.  I  do  not  pretend  to  give  an  account 
of  what  transpired  in  other  parts  of  the  field.  One  thing  I  think 
I  may  safely  claim  without  disparaging  anybody,  that  our  brig 
ade  held  up  our  end  of  the  line  throughout  the  entire  day.  We 
bivouacked  on  the  night  of  the  llth  at  Green  Spring  Valley  about 
three  miles  east  of  Trevillian  Station.  There  we  fortunately 
found  an  abundance  of  water  for  man  and  beast.  We  slept  on 
our  arms. 

SUNDAY,  12TH  JUNE,  1864. 

The  next  morning,  the  12th,  we  moved  back  to  the  railroad 
bright  and  early.  General  Hampton  placed  General  Butler  in 
command  of  the  First  Division  Cavalry,  A.  N.  V.,  which  he 
commanded  with  great  credit  to  himself  to  the  end  of  the  war. 
There  was  no  confusion  on  our  side  this  day,  so  far  as  our 
division  was  concerned.  General  Hampton  went  back  to  look 
after  the  other  troops  under  his  command. 

General  Butler  withdrew  the  line  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the 
crest  of  a  hill,  so  as  to  be  able  to  sweep  the  field  in  front.  Our 
line  was  formed  as  follows:  The  Fourth  South  Carolina  on  the 
left,  the  Sixth  in  the  center  and  the  Fifth  on  the  right.  Young's 
and  Rosser's  brigades  stretched  out  on  the  right  of  our  brigade. 
Two  Napoleon  guns  of  Thompson's  battery  were  posted  some 
what  to  the  right  of  the  center  of  our  brigade.  Hart's  battery 
and  the  other  two  guns  of  Thompson's  battery  were  stationed  at 
intervals  along  the  line.  The  line  of  our  brigade  made  rather 
a  sharp  angle  at  the  railroad  in  order  to  get  the  benefit  of  the 


248  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

railroad  embankment.  The  Sixth  South  Carolina  Regiment 
occupied  this  angle,  afterwards  properly  styled  the  "Bloody 
Angle."  This  was  the  situation  when  between*  1  and  2  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  on  the  12th  of  June,  1864,  Sheridan  moved  up 
to  attack  us.  Everybody  was  of  course  dismounted  fighting  on 
foot.  At  the  far  side  of  the  field  from  our  line,  not  more  than  two 
hundred  yards  distant,  was  a  piece  of  woods  skirted  by  a  rail 
fence,  and  just  against  the  angle  above  described  was  the  house  of 
a  Mr.  Ogg  in  an  oak  grove  in  our  front.  When  the  skirmish  line  of 
the  Yankees  opened  a  brisk  fire  from  the  woods,  we  gave  them  as 
good  as  they  sent,  we  having  in  the  meantime  thrown  up  such 
breastworks  as  could  be  improvised'  with  our  hands  and  bayonets 
on  short  notice.  The  two  brass  twelve-pound  Xapoleons  joined 
in  the  fray.  The  shots  from  these  two  guns  attracted  a  con 
centrated  fire  upon  them.  The  cannonniers  were  shot  down  as 
fast  as  they  could  be  posted.  So  fatal  was  the  enemy's  fire  that 
General  Butler  directed  Major  Preston  Chew,  then  commanding 
the  two  batteries,  not  to  attempt  to  man  the  guns,  as  it  was  mur 
der  to  keep  them  there.  They  were  consequently  withdrawn  until 
towards  dusk,  as  will  appear  later.  Sheridan  made  seven  distinct 
assaults  on  our  line,  directed  mainly  on  our  brigade.  We  could 
distinctly  hear  his  bugles  sound  the  charge,  and  next  morning 
found  demijohns  and  jugs  that  had  been  emptied  of  whiskey 
with  which  he  had  been  administering  "Dutch  courage"  to  his 
men.  Sheridan's  men  had  effected  an  entrance  into  the  dwelling 
house  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  Sixth  regi 
ment  angle  and  were  playing  havoc  picking  off  our  men.  Just 
before  the  first  attack  Butler  ordered  Captain  Humphries,  com 
manding  Troops  B  and  F,  the  Second  squadron  of  the  Sixth 
cavalry,  to  move  across  the  railroad  and  to  retreat  to  our  lines  as 
soon  as  attacked,  and  in  recrossing  the  railroad  the  Yankee 
sharpshooters,  who  were  posted  up  the  railroad,  fired  on  these 
two  companies,  and  among  others  my  brother,  Private  Whitfield 
Butler  Brooks,  was  killed. 

"Firm  as  the  firmest,  where  duty  led 

He  hurried  without  a  falter; 
Bold  as  the  boldest  he  fought  and  bled, 
And  the  day  was  won — but  the  field  was  red; 
And  the  blood  of  his  fresh  young  heart  was  shed 

On  his  country's  hallowed  altar." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  249 

Lieutenant  Bauskett,  after  the  men  got  into  the  railroad  cut, 
halted  them  for  a  moment  and  it  was  then  that  the  sharpshooters 
got  in  their  deadly  work.  Lieutenant  J.  J.  Bunch  of  our  Com 
pany  B,  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  says  of  Lieutenant  Bauskett, 
who  commanded  the  company  in  the  "Bloody  Angle":  General 
Butler  sent  us  word  to  hold  our  position  at  all  hazards.  Lieu 
tenant  Bauskett  sent  this  message:  "Send  us  ammunition,  Gen 
eral,  and  we  will  do  it."  Belton  Orchard  said:  "Tell  General 
Butler  that  we  will  hold  it  until  hell  freezes  over."  It  was  a  very 
hot  place.  Lieutenant  Bauskett  was  a  brave  and  skillful  officer, 
leading  the  company  in  many  battles.  He  had  the  entire  con 
fidence  of  the  brigade.  Among  the  wounded  were  Sam  Mays 
and  Bud  Rountree.  Just  as  the  fight  began  Sergeant  Andrew 
Giles  was  ordered  to  Ogg's  house  to  do  sharpshooting  with  a 
squad  of  men,  but  before  reaching  the  house  he  was  mortally 
wounded.  Bill  Claxton  and  Eddie  Padgett  were  killed,  and  soon 
after  this  Matt  Moss  and  John  Moss  were  killed.  The  Yankees 
were  so  impressed  with  Young  Padgett's  youth  that  they  got  a 
pillow  from  the  house  and  placed  it  under  his  head  to  alleviate 
his  pain.  He  was  shot  in  the  stomach  and  died  before  the  fight 
was  over. 

"On  the  trampled  breast  of  the  battle  plain, 
Where  the  foremost  ranks  had  wrestled, 
On  his  pale  pure  face  not  a  mark  of  pain, 
(His  mother  dreams  they  will  meet  again) 
The  fairest  form  amid  all  the  slain, 
Like  a  child  asleep  he  nestled." 

Of  the  wounded  in  our  company  I  remember  Ike  Bush,  Pres 
Williams,  Jim  Quattlebaum,  Bill  Turner  and  Henry  Quattle- 
baum.  Of  Company  F  I  saw  two  gallant  boys  shot  down,  Alfred 
Aldrich  and  Robert  Aldrich,  adjutant  of  the  old  Sixth  cavalry 
and  now  the  distinguished  judge  of  the  second  circuit  of  South 
Carolina.  When  the  fighting  began  Saturday  morning  Company 
B  had  64  men  and  by  9  o'clock  Sunday  night  37  had  been  killed 
and  wounded.  Assault  after  assault  was  made  on  this  "Bloody 
Angle."  As  above  stated,  seven  distinct  charges  were  repulsed. 
There  was  a  gallant  major  who  led  these  charges,  and  about 
sunset,  while  leading  his  last  charge,  when  almost  near  enough  to 
be  stuck  by  a  bayonet,  Corporal  John  Briggs  and  Private  Abe 


250  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Broadwater,  of  Company  B,  killed  him,  and  thus  ended  the 
career  of  one  of  the  most  gallant  men  in  the  JTankee  army.  I 
wish  I  knew  his  name.  Their  dead  and  wounded  and  our  dead 
and  wounded  were  lying  close  together  between  the  railroad 
irons,  and  just  across  the  railroad,  where  so  many  charges  had 
been  led  by  this  gallant  major,  wrere  the  dead  bodies  of  about 
300  of  Sheridan's  cavalry.  Just  in  front  of  the  second  squadron 
of  the  Sixth  cavalry,  the  losses  in  our  regiment  were  heavy, 
especially  where  exposed  to  the  enfilade  fire  of  the  Yankee  bat 
teries  and  small  arms.  Worse  still,  our  ammunition  was  ex 
hausted,  when  near  sunset  it  was  seen  that  Sheridan  had  con 
centrated  stronger  and  heavier  columns  for  another  assault. 
General  Butler  dispatched  one  of  his  staff,  Lieutenant  Nat  But 
ler,  for  Hart's  battery  to  come  to  the  center.  This  battery  came 
at  a  gallop  and  unlimbered  its  pieces  in  the  missile-torn  field  be 
side  Thompson's  silent  guns.  An  ammunition  wagon  was  carried 
at  a  gallop  along  Butler's  line.  The  gallant  Ordnance  Sergeant 
Grant,  of  Captain  Barber's  Company,  Fourth  South  Carolina 
Cavalry  (this  brave  man,  Grant,  died  at  his  home  near  the  city 
of  Chester,  S.  C.,  on  tire  29th  July,  1907),  pitching  cases  of  rifle 
cartridges  from  the  rear  end  of  his  bullet-riddled  wagon,  as  the 
horses  were  pulling  it  at  a  run  on  its  dangerous  mission.  The 
cases  were  soon  broken  open  and  the  men  supplied.  Just  before 
the  wagon  arrived,  however,  every  man  in  Company  B,  Sixth 
South  Carolina  Cavalry,  had  fired  his  last  cartridge,  and  a  young 
private  soldier,  Bill  Turner,  of  the  company,  volunteered  to  go 
after  the  ammunition  and  was  wounded.  Two  other  boys  volun 
teered,  Wash  Allen  and  Tom  Sego,  which  looked  like  madness 
on  their  part.  Cannon  balls  and  minnie  balls  were  flying  thick 
and  fast  just  over  our  heads  and  striking  and  plowing  up  the 
ground  behind  us.  But  on  they  went  through  this  storm  of  lead 
and  got  as  much  as  they  could  carry  and  returned  in  time  for  us 
to  repulse  another  charge.  This  daring  deed  of  these  boys  was 
one  of  the  bravest  of  the  war.  General  Butler  ordered  the  gal 
lant  Major  Hart  to  burn  the  Ogg  house.  It  was  not  long  before 
it  was  in  a  blaze  and  the  hiding  place  of  the  Yankee  sharp 
shooters  destroyed.  We  learned  afterwards  that  the  occupants 
and  owners  of  the  house,  old  man  Ogg  and  his  wife,  took  refuge 
in  the  cellar,  and  when  the  house  caught  fire  ran  out  and  escaped 
without  injury.  Such  is  war.  Battery  M,  a  Yankee  regular  bat- 


BUTLEK  AND   HlS   CAVALRY,    1861-1865.  251 

tery  up  the  railroad  to  our  right,  had  been  indulging  in  an  en 
filading  fire  on  our  extreme  left  along  the  embankment  of  the 
railroad,  doing  great  damage.  General  Butler  directed  Major 
Chew  to  order  the  other  guns  of  Thompson's  battery  to  assist 
Hart's  battery  and  silence  the  Yankee  battery.  This  was  quickly 
done  under  the  concentrated  accurate  fire  of  our  gunners.  Frank 
Bamberg  and  J.  W.  Verdier  were  the  gunners  of  Hart's  battery. 
We  could  distinctly  hear  the  explosion  when  one  or  more  of  the 
Yankee  caissons  were  blown  up  by  our  shells.  We  understood  at 
the  time  that  the  Yankee  Battery  M  was  known  as  Tidball's  or 
Pennington's  battery,  whichever  it  was,  did  not  survive  to  do  us 
more  damage.  I  heard  General  Butler  remark  that  the  firing 
of  the  two  batteries  was  the  most  accurate  and  effective  he  had 
ever  known.  Between  sunset  and  dusk  we  heard  the  Yankee 
bugles  sound  preparing  for  another  charge.  It  turned  out  to  be 
the  seventh  and  last.  General  Butler  directed  Major  Chew  to 
man  the  howitzers,  as  the  dusk  of  the  evening  and  smoke  of 
battle  would  protect  the  gunners,  partially  at  least,  from  the  view 
of  Sheridan's  sharpshooters;  to  double  shot  the  guns  with  grape 
and  cannister.  General  Butler  informed  Major  Chew  that  he 
was  satisfied  the  Yankees  would  charge  over  the  rail  fence  at  the 
edge  of  the  woods  and  attempt  to  drive  us  from  our  position; 
that  when  they  crossed  the  fence  and  got  out  in  the  open,  to 
receive  them  with  his  grape  and  cannister.  Sure  enough,  over 
the  fence  they  came  and  made  a  rush  up  the  declivity  in  our 
front,  but  they  did  not  make  much  headway.  Chew's  grape  and 
cannister.  together  with  the  steady  aim  of  our  Enfields,  proved 
too  much  for  them.  They  recoiled  under  our  terrible  fire  and 
beat  a  hasty  retreat  back  to  the  woods.  One  of  the  most  gallant 
men  in  this  battle  was  Captain  Zimmerman  Davis,  who  com 
manded  the  Second  squadron  of  the  Fifth  cavalry,  afterwards 
Colonel  of  the  Fifth  regiment.  This  regiment  faced  the  open 
field,  protected  by  some  rails.  The  men  had  stretched  along 
the  dirt  road,  which  crossed  the  railroad  at  the  "Bloody  Angle." 
The  left  of  the  Fifth  regiment  joined  the  extreme  right  of  the 
Sixth  cavalry  regiment.  A  portion  of  it  was  in  the  cut,  but  it  was 
completely  enfiladed  by  the  fire  from  the  Yankee  artillery  and 
sharpshooters  on  the  edge  of  the  woods  on  its  right.  The  other 
portion  occupied  the  fence  corner  in  the  road,  and  enfiladed  by 


252  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  sharpshooters  stationed  in  the  edge  of  the  woods  and  in  the 
Ogg  house,  until  Hart's  battery  destroyed  it.  The  Second  squad 
ron,  under  Captain  Davis,  faced  the  open  field  at  the  extreme 
end  of  which,  at  least  a  thousand  yards  from  us,  we  could  see 
the  Yankee  cavalry  form  in  line  for  charging.  The  bugles  would 
sound  the  charge,  but  there  was  no  horseback  charge  by  the 
Yankees  that  day.  They  would  prepare  for  the  charge,  when  the 
fire  from  our  long  Enfield  rifles  would  create  such  consternation, 
that  they  would  come  to  a  halt  and  disappear  behind  a  body  of 
woods,  then  reappear  and  try  the  process  again  and  again,  until 
they  had  made  thirteen  different  unsuccessful  attempts  to  make 
the  charge.  Meantime  we  were  getting  in  our  deadly  work,  while 
they  were  making  good  the  old  saying  that  "he  who  hesitates  is 
lost."  Prisoners  captured  the  next  day  stated  that  our  fire  was 
so  effective  at  such  a  distance  that  it  was  thought  we  had  been 
largely  reinforced  by  infantry,  and  could  not  believe  that  only 
Butler's  brigade  of  South  Carolina  Cavalry  was  in  their  front. 
Thus  ended  the  second  day's  fight.  The  Fifth  cavalry  lost  in  the 
two  days'  fighting :  Killed,  6 ;  wounded,  41 ;  missing  or  captured, 
8.  This  is  taken  from  the  official  report,  published  in  the  Charles 
ton  Courier  of  date  13th  July,  1864.  Sergeant  R.  M.  Glaze, 
father  of  the  distinguished  lawyer,  Mr.  W.  L.  Glaze,  belonged 
to  Captain  Edwards'  company,  Fifth  cavalry,  and  had  his  head 
shot  off  by  a  cannon  ball.  Sheridan  began  his  retreat  towards 
Grant's  line,  reporting  that  he  had  met  a  strong  force  of  infantry 
and  was  compelled  to  retire.  The  fact  is,  there  was  not  an  infan 
try  soldier  on  either  side  nearer  to  Trevillian  Station  than  on 
General  Lee's  lines  in  front  of  Richmond  or  at  Lynchburg  with 
General  Early.  It  was  not  surprising,  however,  that  Sheridan 
should  have  mistaken  our  dismounted  cavalry  behind  their  En- 
fields  for  regular  infantry,  for  we  understood  the  art  of  shooting, 
and  we  shot  to  kill  and  did  kill  lots  of  them.  Next  morning,  the 
13th,  we  found  the  field  in  our  front  covered  with  their  dear  and 
Bounded.  The  howitzers  and  Enfields  had  mowed  them  down 
as  they  advanced  in  line  of  battle,  and  we  could  locate  their  line 
by  the  dead  as  they  fell  in  their  tracks. 

The  Yankees  displayed  pluck  and  splendid  courage  that 
bloody  day  in  their  attempt  to  drive  us  away,  but  were  sadly  in 
need  of  a  good  cavalry  leader.  Sheridan  was  no  match  for  But- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  253 

ler.  He  said  a  few  days  after  this  fight  that  that  d — d  man 
(meaning  Butler)  had  given  him  more  trouble  with  his  South 
Carolina  brigade  than  all  the  rebel  cavalry  put  together.  "Praise, 
indeed,  from  Sir  Hubert." 

The  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  under  the  gallant  Colonel 
B.  H.  Rutledge,  behaved  most  gallantly.  Our  losses  in  killed  was 
fearful.  I  witnessed  a  most  tragic  and  pathetic  scene  in  the 
"Bloody  Angle."  While  the  Yankee  battery  was  enfilading  a 
part  of  our  line  along  the  railroad  embankment,  a  shell  knocked 
all  the  flesh  off  the  right  thigh  of  John  Moss,  leaving  the  thigh 
bone  perfectly  bare,  even  of  blood,  and  in  some  mysterious  way 
did  not  break  it.  When  his  brother  Mat  saw  it,  he  at  once  ran 
to  him,  put  his  arms  around  him,  when  a  Yankee  sharpshooter 
shot  him  through  the  heart.  He  died  lying  across  John's  breast, 
who  did  not  die  for  some  little  time  afterwards.  Both  of  these 
splendid  soldiers — splendid  in  physique  and  splendid  in  cour 
age — belonged  to  my  Company  B,  of  the  Sixth  South  Carolina 
Cavalry.  This  regiment  was  the  greatest  sufferer  owing  to  the 
position  it  occupied  in  the  "Angle."  Either  of  the  others,  Fourth 
and  Fifth,  would  have  made  the  same  record  under  the  same 
circumstances.  General  Butler,  Captain  jas.  N.  Lipscomb,  his 
adjutant-general;  his  gallant  young  aide-de-camp,  Nat.  Butler; 
Major  Chew,  and  several  couriers,  were  the  only  mounted  men 
on  the  line  of  our  brigade,  and  I  have  looked  back  with  wonder 
and  amazement  how  it  was  they  escaped  in  that  deadly  fire  of  the 
enemy.  But  such  things  "are  past  finding  out."  The  men  and 
horses  of  our  division  were  so  fatigued  and  jaded  (the  men  hav 
ing  been  without  a  morsel  to  eat  from  Friday  until  Monday 
afternoon,  and  the  horses  having  been  grazed  only  for  an  hour 
or  two  each  night)  we  could  not  pursue  Sheridan  as  vigorously 
as  we  desired.  Sheridan's  retreat  was  so  precipitate  that  he 
could  not  wait  for  horses  that  showed  signs  of  fatigue,  but  had 
them  shot  at  once,  and  Colonel  Zimmerman  Davis  counted  over 
two  thousand  dead  horses,  with  bullet  holes  in  their  heads,  in  the 
one  hundred  miles  (averaging  over  twenty  to  the  mile)  from 
Trevillian  to  the  White  House  on  the  Pamunky. 

On  Monday  morning  General  Butler  selected  Captain  Zim 
merman  Davis'  squadron,  as  he  remarked  at  the  time,  "in  conse 
quence  of  its  conspicuous  gallantry  during  the  two  days'  fight- 


254  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ing,"  to  go  over  the  battle  fields,  bury  the  dead,  look  after  any 
wounded  he  may  find  and  gather  up  such  arms  as  might  be 
scattered  around,  which  duties  were  discharged,  and  Captain 
Davis  overtook  the  brigade  the  next  day. 

General  Hampton  informed  General  Butler  on  Sunday  night, 
the  12th,  he  would  have  him  relieved  very  early  after  nightfall 
so  that  he  might  retire  with  his  command  and  go  into  camp  after 
the  heroic  stand  he  had  taken  against  Sheridan.  We,  however, 
were  not  relieved  until  2  o'clock  the  next  morning.  The  reader 
can  imagine  how  sorely  we  needed  rest  after  the  struggle  of  two 
such  days.  During  the  night  we  gathered  as  best  we  could  our 
wounded  and  dead,  the  latter  for  want  of  transportation  we 
carried  out  just  in  the  rear  of  our  line  of  battle.  It  was  a  bright 
moonlight  night,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  ghastly  appearance 
our  poor  boys  made  as  they  laid  pale  and  stiff  under  the  unsym 
pathetic  light  of  the  moon.  We  had  no  time  to  shed  tears  over 
our  dead  comrades,  but  moved  on  during  the  morning  of  the  13th 
of  June  in  pursuit  of  Sheridan,  who  had  abandoned  his  dead  and 
such  of  his  wounded  as  could  not  travel  with  surgeons  to  attend 
them.  We  followed  him  across  the  North  Anna  at  Carpenter's 
Ford  and  continued  the  pursuit  to  the  White  House,  as  above 
stated.  As  we  passed  through  positions  he  had  occupied  in  his 
attacks  upon  us  on  the  12th  we  discovered  a  great  number  of 
empty  demijohns  and  jugs,  to  which  I  have  referred  to  above.  As 
we  passed  them  the  boys  jollied  each  other,  as  their  mouths 
watered  for  some  of  Sheridan's  whiskey,  exclaiming  he  had  given 
us  "plenty  of  lead  but  no  liquor."  It  would  be  presumption,  on  oc 
cupying  the  position  of  a  private  soldier  and  courier,  to  pro 
nounce  judgment  on  great  strategic  and  tactical  movements  of 
opposing  armies,  but  I  have  heard  men — military  critics  fully 
qualified  to  discuss  them — say  that  the  three  defeats  of  Grant's 
combination  to  break  the  lines  of  his  great  antagonist,  Early's 
defeat  of  Hunter,  Hampton's  defeat  of  Sheridan  in  the  battle 
at  Trevillian  and  Symaria  Church,  and  his  defeat  of  Wilson  at 
Sappony  Church,  were  of  the  greatest  value  to  General  Lee  in 
his  defense  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg.  In  a  letter  from 
General  Thos.  T.  Munford,  who  commanded  a  Virginia  brig 
ade,  he  says:  "The  last  time  General  Hampton  was  at  my 
house  he  said  to  me,  'Butler's  defense  at  Trevillian  was  never 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  255 

surpassed/  and  he  added,  ;He  was  as  good  a  soldier  as  we  had.'  r 
Our  cavalry  established  a  first-class  cemetery  at  Trevillian 
which  has  given  employment  to  several  Yankee  soldiers  since 
the  war  to  keep  in  good  repair. 

It  will  be  observed  that  I  have  not  attempted  to  give  an  ac 
count  of  the  operations  of  other  commands  engaged  in  this 
bloody  fight  at  Trevillian  Station,  but  have  confined  my  nar 
rative  to  the  part  played  by  our  immediate  command.  It  is  hoped 
that  some  survivor  of  the  others  will  supplement  what  I  have 
stated  and  correct  any  errors  that  I  may  have  made,  thus  making 
the  record  complete  in  its  details.  I  take  the  following  from 
"Hampton  and  His  Cavalry,"  by  Edward  L.  Wells.  Of  this 
fight  he  says:  "The  force  under  Hampton  did  not  exceed  four 
thousand  seven  hundred  men  in  all  in  the  two  divisions.  These 
figures  are  taken  from  memoranda  of  General  Hampton,  based 
on  papers  in  his  possession  preserved  from  the  war,  and  corres 
pond  from  the  data  obtained  from  other  sources.  There  were 
three  batteries  of  horse  artillery  of  four  guns  each."  Sheridan 
had  his  first  and  second  divisions  commanded  by  Torbet  and 
Gregg,  numbering  about  nine  thousand  men,  with  twenty- four 
pieces  of  artillery,  being  six  batteries  of  four  guns  each.  The 
twenty-four  regiments  composing  Sheridan's  two  divisions, 
selected  for  this  expedition,  consisted  of  the  picked  troops  of 
his  corps,  such  as  the  First,  Second  and  Fifth  United  States 
Regulars,  Custer's  brigade  and  First  New  Jersey." 

"The  Federal  troops,  therefore,  outnumbered  Hampton's  in  the 
proportion  of  more  than  two  to  one,  with  artillery  in  the  same 
ratio.  But  this  was  not  all  their  armament  and  equipment,  their 
breech-loaders  and  magazine  rifles  gave  them  an  advantage  over 
muzzle-loaders  which  ought  to  have  been  the  equivalent  of  a 
hundred  per  cent.,  but  estimating  it  at  only  fifty  per  cent,  their 
force  would  have  practically  outnumbered  Hampton's  as  'three 
is  to  one.' '  Mr.  Wells  speaks  of  Butler,  12th  day  of  June,  com 
manding  Hampton's  division,  "That  he  was  soon  to  gain  the 
well-earned  commission  of  a  major-general.  Always  calm  and 
cool  when  in  action,  his  handsome,  clear-cut  face  showed  on  this 
occasion  no  emotion  as  he  scanned  the  details  of  the  field." 

"On  the  person  of  a  Federal  prisoner,  captured  during  their 
retreat,  was  found  a  diary.  Saturday,  June  llth,  fight  at  Tre 
villian  Station,  captured  and  killed  six  hundred  rebs. 


256 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


"Sunday,  June  12th,  fought  on  same  ground,  got  whipped  like 
the  devil;  lost  more  men  than  the  rebs  did  the  day  previous." 

On  14th  June,  in  a  letter  to  General  Lee,  the*following  remark 
about  the  Trevillian  fight  is  made  by  General  Hampton: 
"Butler's  brigade  held  their  ground  against  seven  desperate 
charges  under  as  heavy  a  fire — artillery  and  musketry — as  troops 
are  often  subjected  to,  without  giving  way  a  foot." 

On  the  22nd  February,  1889. 
General  Rosser,  who  was  one  of 
the  best  cavalry  officers  Vir 
ginia  ever  produced,  delivered 
a  speech  before  the  Maryland 
Army  and  Navy  Association, 
in  which  he  says  of  the  second 
day's  fight  at  Trevillian,  12th 
June:  "Sheridan  concentrated 
his  force  and  exerted  his  entire 
strength  to  the  driving  of 
Hampton  out  of  his  way,  but 
he  could  not  move  him.  This 
fight  was  conducted  more  like 
an  infantry  battle  than  a  cav 
alry  fight.  The  men  were  all 
dismounted  and  carbines  were 
the  only  weapons  used.  Hamp 
ton's  line  of  defense  was 
strengthened  by  a  breastwork  of  fence  rails,  and  Sheridan  tried 
to  carry  it  by  dismounted  charges.  It  was  a  spirited  infantry 
attack  and  a  stubborn  infantry  resistance.  Sheridan  displayed  no 
skill  in  maneuvering ;  it  was  simply  a  square  stand  up  fight,  man 
to  man,  and  Hampton  whipped  him — defeated  his  purpose  and 
turned  him  back.  The  history  writers  of  the  North  are  endeavor 
ing  to  make  a  great  general  of  Sheridan,  but  the  impartial  his 
torian,  who  will  write  for  future  generations  to  read,  will  over 
turn  their  feeble  and  foundationless  structure.  Sheridan  was  not 
only  whipped  by  Hampton  at  Trevillian,  but  routed  and  panic- 
stricken,  as  his  hasty  retreat  during  the  night  of  the  12th  and 
the  route  he  took  to  avoid  pursuit  will  show.  So  much  afraid 
was  he  of  pursuit  and  further  disaster  that  he  ran  off  and  hid 


ROBERT  ALDRICH,   JUDGE  SECOND  CIRCUIT 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  257 

in  the  wilderness  and  changed  his  course  only  after  learning  that 
he  was  not  followed  by  Hampton  in  force.  Still,  to  make  assur 
ance  certain  and  safety  sure,  he  hastened  across  the  Mattaponi, 
putting  that  river,  as  well  as  the  Pamunky,  between  him  and 
Hampton.  Finally  he  got  back  to  Grant  after  a  long  and  tedious 
march.  Now  listen  to  his  story:  "Found  Hampton  with  all  the 
rebel  cavalry  at  Trevillian's  and  whipped  him,  but  Brecken- 
ridge's  division  of  infantry  came  to  his  rescue,  and  as  I  was 
about  out  of  ammunition,  I  deemed  it  best  to  come  back."  If 
Sheridan  had  been  even  a  tolerably  fair  general  he  would  have 
taken  advantage  of  the  scattered  condition  of  Hampton's  com 
mand  and  destroyed  him  on  the  llth,  and  on  the  12th  he  showed 
himself  anything  but  a  master  of  the  art  of  war  by  allowing 
Butler  to  hold  him  in  check  with  three  brigades  nearly  all  day 
until  Fitz.  Lee  could  march  around  from  Louisa  Court  House 
and  get  into  line  to  assist  Butler.  Sheridan  was  not  by  nature 
suited  to  the  command  of  cavalry.  He  was  a  dull  man,  and  his 
mind  worked  too  slowly  for  the  quick  manoeuvres  of  the  cavalry. 
As  an  infantry  officer  Sheridan  possessed  fair  ability,  as  a  cav 
alry  officer  he  was  the  most  absolute  failure  of  all  the  many  fail 
ures  which,  one  after  another,  wras  laid  aside  by  Mr.  Lincoln 
as  the  war  developed  them.  Nothing  saved  Sheridan  from  the 
bleak,  dreary  shores  of  oblivion  but  the  exhausted  condition  of 
the  Confederate  cavalry,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  Federal  cavalry.  Few  in  number,  short  of  forage,  short  of 
rations,  and  constantly  growing  weaker  as  the  enemy  grew 
stronger,  the  Confederate  cavalry  maintained  itself  as  an  equal, 
if  not  more  than  a  match,  for  its  adversary  to  the  end.  Its 
raids  were  always  successful  and  its  battles  were  victorious. 
The  story  is  too  long  to  be  fully  told  on  an  occasion  like  this. 
I  could  tell  you  of  Hampton's  successful  raid  through  the  enemy's 
lines  to  Cogins'  Point  on  the  James,  of  his  defeat  of  Gregg  and 
the  capture  of  25,000  head  of  fat  beeves ;  I  could  tell  you  of  the 
disastrous  raid  of  Wilson  to  Staunton  River :  I  could  tell  you  of 
Butler's  victory  at  Reams'  Station,  and  Rossers  successful  raids 
to  New  Creek  and  to  Beverly ;  I  could  tell  you  of  the  last  victory 
achieved  by  any  part  of  our  army,  the  destruction  of  General 
Reid's  command  at  the  High  Bridge  on  the  6th  of  April,  three 
days  before  the  surrender  where  General  Humphries  says  Rosser 

17— B.   C. 


258  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

killed  General  Reid,  Colonel  Washburn  and  every  cavalry  officer 
in  their  (Yankee)  command. 

As  the  curtains  were  being  drawn  around  the,  last  days  of  the 
Confederacy,  the  courage  and  patriotism  of  the  cavalry  shone 
out  in  more  and  more  resplendent  glory,  and  faltered  not  as  the 
star  of  her  destiny  approached  the  political  horizon  beneath 
which  it  was  so  soon  to  sink  forever.  And  finally,  at  Appomattox, 
as  fate  blotted  the  gallant  Confederacy  from  the  map  of  the 
world,  the  unconquered  cavalry,  like  the  eagle,  whose  lofty  nest 
had  been  torn  from  the  mountain  crag  by  the  howling  cyclone, 
dashed  triumphantly  through  the  tempest  of  battle  and  defiantly 
proclaimed,  "The  cavalry  never  surrenders." 


In  the  House  of  Representatives,  December  13,  1864. 

The  Committee  on  the  Military,  to  whom  was  referred  a  letter 
of  Brigadier-General  M.  C.  Butler,  presenting  to  the  State  a 
battle  flag  captured  from  the  enemy  at  Trevillian  Station  by  the 
Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  beg  leave  to  report,  and  recom 
mend  the  adoption  of,  the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  General  Assembly  be  ten 
dered  to  Brig.-Gen.  M.  C.  Butler,  and  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  for  the  battle  flag  of  the 
enemy  presented  to  the  State,  and  that  the  Governor  be  requested 
to  have  it  stamped  with  the  date  and  place  of  its  capture,  and 
the  person  by  whom  captured,  and  suitably  suspended  in  the  hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Resolved,  That  the  House  do  agree  to  the  report. 

Ordered,  That  it  be  sent  to  the  Senate  for  concurrence. 

By  order :  JOHN  T.  SLOAN,  C.  H.  R. 

In  the  Senate,  December  23,  1864. 
Resolved,  That  the  Senate  do  concur  in  the  report. 
Ordered,  That  it  be  returned  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
By  order:  WM.  E.  MARTIN,  C.  S. 


GEO.    D.    SHADBURNE,    CHIEF    OF    HAMPTON'S    SCOUTS 


260  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


M.  C.  BUTLER  A  BORN  SOLDIER 

On  the  8th  day  of  March,  1836,  when  M.  C.  Butler  was  born 
into  this  world,  he  was  born  a  soldier.  This  great  cavalry  leader 
had  a  way  of  winning  battles  that  was  terrible  for  the  Yankees 
to  behold. 

He  speaks  little  of  himself  and  much  of  others. 

The  following  letters  show  how  much  he  was  admired  and  loved 
from  President  Davis  down  to  the  humblest  private  soldier : 

Beauvoir,  Harrison  County,  Miss., 

August  15,  1878. 
General  M.  C.  Butler,  White  Sulphur  Springs,  West  Virginia. 

My  Dear  General :  Major  Walthall  this  morning  brought  me  your  letter 
from  Mississippi  City. 

I  hope  you  have  found  enough  hope  of  usefulness  in  your  life  at  Wash 
ington  to  serve  as  an  antidote  to  many  unpleasant  surroundings. 

We  are  threatened  with  the  formation  of  a  new  party,  the  frequent  resort 
in  past  times  of  the  craftsmen  who  have  succeeded  to  the  old  Federalists, 
having  all  the  vices,  without  the  intellect  and  sturdy  virtues  which  were  the 
redeeming  traits  of  their  predecessors. 

I  am  living  in  great  seclusion,  and  though  I  feel  much,  take  no  part  in 
the  politics  of  the  day. 

As  ever  your  friend, 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 


Shadburne  and  Herrin, 

Attorneys  at  Law, 
415  Montgomery  Street, 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  December  7,  1893. 
General  M.  C.  Butler,  Senator,  Washington,  D.  C. 

My  Dear  General :  I  am  greatly  pleased  to  receive  your  kind  favor  of 
the  27th  inst. 

It  is  always  agreeable  to  know  that  we  are  not  forgotten  by  those  we 
knew  long  years  ago.  Many  times  I  have  thought  of  your  gallant  self, 
when,  during  the  palmy  days  (if  such  we  ever  had)  of  our  new-born 
republic  when  we  struggled  and  bled  for  the  cause  of  right.  With  the  eye 
of  memory  I  have  seen  you  at  the  head  of  your  army  of  loyal  troopers 
charging  the  fleeing  foe;  I  have  seen  you  bleeding  and  crippled,  have  seen 
sad  faces  mourning  your  absence  from  the  tented  field,  and  again,  after  a 
brief  respite,  I  have  seen  your  at  your  wonted  place  and  astride  your 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  261 

charger  leading  your  people  on  to  victory.  I  have  watched  with  pleasure 
your  career  since  our  ill-fated  undertaking  went  down  in  glooni,  and  though 
I  am  a  Californian,  none  of  nay  love  and  sympathy  for  the  land  of  my  birth 
have  ever  waned. 

I  saw  General  Hampton  when  he  was  out  here  and  was  with  him  fre 
quently,  and  it  was  with  pleasure  we  reviewed  the  past. 

I  was  in  Washington  five  years  since  and  saw  the  General  then,  and  I  am 
sorry  to  see  the  marks  of  time  so  visible  with  him.  While  he  seemed  cheer 
ful  and  comparatively  happy,  I  could  plainly  see  the  marks  of  sadness, 
and  I  regret  that,  as  he  said  to  me  in  one  of  his  letters,  there  is  but  little 
left  to  him  but  the  memories  of  the  past. 

I  thank  you  for  your  kind  wishes  in  my  behalf.  I  have  prospered  fairly 
well  and  am  surrounded  by  a  pretty  numerous  family. 

Yours  very  truly, 

GEO.  D.  SHADBURNE. 


Alma,  Ark.,  R.  F.  D.  No.  3,  February  5,  1903. 
General  M.  C.  Butler,  Augusta,  Ga. 

Dear  General :  I  received  a  copy  of  The  State  a  few  days  ago,  of  date 
December  28,  1902,  sent  me  by  a  friend,  in  which  I  see  recorded  the  death 
of  our  dear  old  surgeon,  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor,  also  your  tribute  to  his  memory. 
You  refer  therein  to  the  time  when  you  had  your  foot  shot  off  near  Stevens- 
burg  and  how  his  prompt  action  and  skillful  operation  saved  your  life.  I 
thought  perhaps  you  would  be  interested  in  hearing  from  one  of  your  old 
regiment,  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  who  was  very  near  you  when 
this  sad  misfortune  occurred.  I  was  the  first  man  to  you  after  you 
fell.  I  helped  to  take  you  up  and  place  you  first  on  a  blanket ;  then 
after  carrying  you  a  short  distance  we  found  an  old  plank  feed  trough 
and  knocked  out  one  end  and  placed  you  therein,  and  four  of  us 
carried  you  with  sticks  under  the  trough,  like  rolling  logs,  till  we 
reached  a  place  of  safety,  where  Dr.  Taylor  performed  the  operation. 
I  remember  well  what  you  said  to  us  when  we  started  back  to  the  front : 
"Go  back,  boys,  and  pay  them  up  for  the  loss  of  my  foot."  I  remember  well 
just  how  you  were  sitting  when  the  shot  struck  you.  Captain  Farley  had 
just  ridden  up,  and  you  were  talking  about  a  battery  the  Yankees  had  just 
got  in  position  on  the  hill  in  the  edge  of  the  little  town  of  Stevensburg, 
and  Hart's  battery  was  just  then  being  placed  in  position  to  oppose  the 
enemy's  fire,  but  I  think  that  about  the  first  or  second  shot  the  enemy  fired 
they  hit  you  and  Captain  Farley  and  killed  both  your  horses.  The  shot  was 
ranging  downward,  came  very  near  hitting  me.  It  struck  Captain  Farley 
and  cut  off  his  leg  above  the  knee,  and  passed  through  his  horse  and  cut  off 
your  foot  and  went  through  the  under  part  of  your  horse's  bowels.  You 
all  came  down  in  a  pile.  Captain  Farley  soon  died  from  his  wounds;  I 
suppose  the  loss  of  blood  was  so  great  he  could  not  survive  it.  Your  horse 
got  up  and  ran  a  long  ways  with  his  bowels  hanging  out  before  he  fell 
and  died. 


262  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Our  lieutenant-colonel,  the  noble  Hampton,  was  shot  about  the  same  time. 
He  and  his  horse  both  received  their  mortal  wounds  close  together;  his 
horse  ran  with  him  quite  a  distance  after  being  shot  and  went  into  a  little 
pine  thicket  and  rider  and  horse  fell  dead  at  the  same  lime. 

That  was  a  sad  day  for  our  regiment.  It  was  not  long,  however,  till  we 
had  the  Yankees  on  the  run  back  towards  the  fords  of  the  Rappahannock. 

A  messmate  of  mine,  who  was  captured  and  placed  just  behind  that  bat 
tery  that  shot  off  your  foot,  told  me  some  time  after  that  (after  he  was 
exchanged  and  returned  to  his  command)  that  the  very  first  shot  that 
Hart's  battery  fired  after  getting  in  position  played  terrible  havoc  with  the 
Yankee  battery.  He  said  it  dismounted  a  gun,  blew  up  a  caisson  and  killed 
and  wounded  a  large  number  of  men  and  officers. 

I  write  because  I  thought  you  would  be  interested  in  these  things  and  in 
knowing  that  one  of  the  men  that  helped  to  take  you  from  the  field  still 
survived.  I  belonged  to  Company  F,  Westfield's. 

We  wrere  in  many  a  close  place  together  after  the  occurrence  related 
above. 

I  am  still  a  soldier,  but  am  fighting  under  the  banner  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace. 

I  am  a  local  elder  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  South. 

I  see  in  the  papers  that  another  of  our  old  Confederate  generals  is  gone — 
General  Wheeler.  One  by  one  we  are  passing  awray.  Soon  we  will  all  pass 
over  the  river — our  ranks  are  growing  thinner  every  year. 

May  there  be  a  happy  reunion  of  us  all  some  day  on  the  other  shore,  and 
when  our  great  Captain  calls  the  roll,  may  we  all  be  able  to  answer 
"Present." 

With  the  best  wishes  for  your  happiness  and  wellfare,  I  am, 

Sincerely  your  old  comrade, 

A.  H.  LARK. 


Lancaster,  S.  C.,  April  30,  1908. 
General  M.  (7.  Butler,  Edgefield,  8.  C. 

My  Dear  General :  Yours  of  the  27th  inst.  received.  I  wish,  in  reply, 
to  say  that  will  be  all  right.  There  is  nothing  I  know  of  to  prevent  me  from 
complying  with  your  request  in  the  matter,  and  I  will  certainly  take 
pleasure  in  doing  so. 

I  remember  with  pleasure  in  "the  days  of  auld  lang  syne,"  both  in  sight 
and  hearing  of  our  commanding  general  on  the  march,  and  on  the  field  of 
battle,  at  Burgesse's  Mill  October  27,  1864.  Just  as  General  Hampton's  sons 
were  shot  down  and  Major  Theo.  G.  Barker  was  so  badly  wounded,  you 
immediately  sent  a  courier  to  Colonel  Jeffords  to  charge — who  was  killed 
as  soon  as  the  message  was  delivered.  How  cool  and  calm  you  appeared 
amidst  those  terrible  scenes.  It  added  to  the  romance  of  our  soldier  life 
and  cheered  our  drooping  spirits,  in  seeing  you  and  hearing  the  clear, 
clarion  notes  of  your  voice  as  it  rang  out  the  command :  "Forward,  for 
ward,  forward,"  and  that  above  the  din  of  battle  and  the  unceasing  rattle 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  263 

of  small  arms.  How  cheerfully  and  willingly  your  men  obeyed  that  voice, 
no  matter  the  ordeal  by  fire  through  which  they  were  passing.  Under 
cover  of  the  "old  worm  fence"  a  steady  stream  of  fire  was  hurled  into  the 
Yankee  line,  twice  our  number,  carrying  death  and  destruction  to  the  very 
midst  of  them.  Their  laugh  was  turned  to  wailing.  When  the  word  came 
down  the  line,  "Prepare  to  advance,"  it  was  no  sooner  uttered  than  a  solid 
line  was  made  ready  to  move  at  the  command.  The  gray  line  swept 
promptly  down  the  steep  sides  of  the  woodland  in  a  steady  line  into  the 
open.  The  whistling  shells  tore  through  the  trees,  cutting  boughs,  severing 
limbs  and  branches  and  showering  leaves  and  twigs  upon  the  passing  line, 
and  ofttimes  wounding  or  crippling  men  as  they  came  to  earth. 

Passing  over  the  ground  one  might  see  the  slaughtered  horses  of  some 
dismantled  battery,  harnessed  yet  to  caisson  or  gun — some  struggling, 
others  wounded  to  the  death.  Not  far  away  from  the  scene  of  carnage  a 
Yankee  soldier  lay  clutching  his  sabre  firmly  in  his  dead  hand;  a  little 
back  of  him  his  horse  lay  dead.  The  tales  of  horror  attending  a  battle 
could  not  be  told  here. 

Ladies  were  frequently  exposed  to  fire,  and  I  remember  to  have  seen  one 
lying  on  the  ground,  her  thigh  shattered  by  a  bullet.  Ofttimes  from  the 
piazza  front  women  would  wave  handkerchiefs  to  the  passing  troops,  asking 
God's  blessing  on  the  men  of  the  South  as  they  rushed  into  action.  On 
one  occasion  at  Stoney  Creek,  Va.,  Captain  Waltour,  a  gallant  one-armed 
Confederate  in  charge  of  a  cavalry  recruiting  camp,  witnessed  something 
of  the  sadness  of  such  scenes — but  by  no  means  rare  in  the  dark  period  of 
the  war.  "So  sad,  so  strange,  the  days  that  are  no  more." 

But,  General,  I  am  still  loyal  to  the  old  Confederacy,  and  equally  so  to 
you  in  the  present,  as  in  our  glorious  past.  And  today,  as  one  of  your  old 
command,  I  am  proud  of  you  and  of  the  "Confederates." 

I  am,  my  dear  General, 

Respectfully  yours, 

R.  T.  DUNLAP. 


264  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


A  BOY  COURIER'S  RECOLLECTION  OF  GENERAL 
M.  C.  BUTLER 

The  Saturday's  engagements  at  Trevillian  Station  was  a 
I'outrance.  Gallant  men  and  beardless  boys  went  to  their  death 
that  memorable  day.  From  7  A.  M.  the  fight  had  waged  until 
night.  When  the  bugle  sang  "truce"  the  night  clouds  had 
lowered  and  the  sentinel  star  sat  its  watch  in  the  sky  and  the  dead 
and  wounded  rested  under  their  lights.  Sunday  morning,  June 
12th,  there  was  some  firing  along  the  line,  and  then  a  lull,  for 
"coming  events"  seemed  to  have  cast  their  shadows  before.  It 
was  so  quiet  that  General  Hampton,  having  waited  for  the  fur 
ther  developments  of  Sheridan's  plans  for  the  night,  deemed  it 
timely  to  take  a  rest. 

His  saddle  was  placed  at  the  root  of  a  large  tree,  his  cavalry 
man's  cloak  ready  to  be  thrown  over  him,  and  as  he  was  about 
to  stretch  his  wreary  length,  a  terrific  fire  commenced  along  our 
entire  front,  and  as  quickly  responded  to  by  that  worn,  weary, 
but  magnificent  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

Fast  and  furious  the  storm  gathered ;  with  a  heroism  belonging 
to  that  army  the  fight  continued.  Nearing  dark  a  hurried  me  ve- 
ment  on  the  part  of  Sheridan's  command  notified  us  that  he  had 
tired  of  his  death  grapple  and  was  in  retreat.  His  bullets  flew 
far  above  our  heads,  and  the  shell  soaring  above  in  graceful 
curves  burst  in  mid  air,  doing  little  or  no  damage  as  the  night 
grew  apace. 

Far  away  in  our  front  the  rumble  of  wheels  were  heard — ar 
tillery  and  wagons  were  being  hurried  out  of  danger  of  Confed 
erate  cavalry.  It  was  a  retreat  ordered  by  a  disheartened  Yan 
kee  general  who  had  endeavored  with  a  splendid  command  to 
drive  our  cavalry  back  upon  Richmond,  but  it  proved  a  check 
mate.  Richmond  was  saved. 

Nearing  sunset  I  was  ordered  by  General  Wade  Hampton  to 
convey  an  order  to  the  dashing  Butler.  A  fast  ride,  and  withal 
a  dangerous  one,  enabled  me  to  locate  him.  General  Butler,  in 
the  heyday  of  life,  the  picture  of  a  beautiful  manhood — (he  was 
just  27  years  old  and  a  Major-General,  C.  S.  A.) — was  mounted 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  265 

and  at  the  rear  of  Hart's  battery.  This  command  having  been 
all  day  engaged,  was  for  the  time  being  sending  a  spiteful  shell 
at  the  skedaddling  Yanks. 

The  enemy  would  fire  in  return,  but  each  fire  semed  more 
nervous  than  the  other.  Now  and  then  a  bullet  would  whistle 
unpleasantly  near — so  near,  in  fact,  that  though  the  general 
would  not  dodge,  Hampton's  courier  would. 

Whilst  waiting  for  his  order  to  ride  back  to  my  chief  I 
noticed  between  times  the  general's  face  and  bearing.  His  face 
was  as  quiet  as  if  he  was  facing  a  party  of  ladies  in  a  parlor, 
or  at  a  picnic,  instead  of  hostile  Yankees.  He  was  nicely  uni 
formed,  his  right  leg  cast  unconcernedly  over  the  pommel  of 
his  McClellan  saddle,  and  with  a  neatly  cut  switch  in  his  hand 
tapping  his  boot  heel.  He  seemed  to  me  at  the  moment  a  picture 
of  absolute  indifference  to  either  fear  or  danger — and  it  was 
bravery,  not  recklessness.  But  an  order  from  Major  Hart  rang 
out:  ''Cease  firing,''  and  immediately  after  I  was  ordered  to 
report  back  to  my  general :  the  order  was  a  welcome  one.  Salut 
ing  and  bending  low  to  my  saddle  I  made  the  homestretch  in 
safety,  horse  and  rider  glad  enough  to  return  with  life  and  limb. 

WADE  HAMPTON  MANNING. 
Orderly  Charleston  Light  Dragoons,  Troop  "K,"  Fourth  South 

Carolina  Cavalry. 


Beginning  with  March  31,  1865,  when  our  command  under 
General  W.  H.  F.  Lee  fought  the  bloody  and  victorious  battle 
at  Chamberlain's  Run,  which  was  followed  the  next  day,  April  1, 
by  one  of  the  decisive  battles  of  history,  that  of  Five  Forks,  the 
first  time  I  ever  saw  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  stampeded. 

We  fought  each  day  on  until  we  reached  Appomattox  Court 
House  on  the  8th  of  April ;  on  the  night  of  the  8th  of  April  our 
battery  (Pelham's  old  horse  battery)  was  ordered  forward  to 
meet  a  column  of  cavalry  that  was  coming  in  from  the  South. 
We  met  them  all  right  and  they  were  too  strong  for  us,  and  we 
were  ordered  to  strike  out  for  Lynchburg,  which  we  reached 
Sunday  morning,  the  9th,  and  a  courier  informed  our  commander 
that  General  Lee  had  surrendered.  Our  battery  disbanded  at 
once  and  the  men  struck  out  in  every  direction.  I,  with  three  or 
four  Virginians,  made  for  Culpeper,  where  they  lived,  and  I 


266  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

thought  to  reach  Colonel  Mosby's  command.  I  never  found  them, 
but  in  going  over  the  mountains  in  Amherst  County,  my  horse 
cast  a  shoe  and  went  lame.  We  rode  up  to  a  blaoksmith  shop  on 
the  roadside  and  asked  the  smith  to  shoe  the  horse  and  he  refused. 
I  offered  him  $10  in  our  money  and  he  refused  that.  I  told  him 
that  he  would  have  to  shoe  the  horse  and  we  all  drew  our  pistols, 
and  he  then  said  if  I  would  give  him  the  bright  staff  buttons  off 
my  jacket  he  would  shoe  the  horse.  I  at  once  tore  off  eight  of  the 
nine  buttons,  leaving  one  at  the  top,  and  he  shod  the  horse,  and 
that  is  why  there  is  but  one  button  on  my  jacket,  which  is  the 
only  thing  I  have  left  of  my  war  outfit. 
The  nine  buttons  in  the  first  place  cost  me  $25. 

D.  CARDWELL. 


Fort  St.  Michael,  Alaska,  March  6,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

Dear  Sir:  The  Semi-Weekly  State  of  October  8,  1907,  which 
reached  me  a  few  days  ago,  contained  "Sketch  which  will  appear 
in  Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks'  forthcoming  publication,  'Butler  and 
His  Cavalry  in  the  War  of  Secession,  1861-'65.'  " 

On  account  of  my  father's  connection  with  this  command  I  am 
especially  interested  in  your  book.  Will  you  kindly  have  your 
publisher  send  me  a  copy  as  soon  as  it  is  out? 

I  also  note  the  interesting  fact  that  General  John  Dunovant 
was  a  captain  in  my  present  regiment  and  on  duty  with  it  in  the 
far  West  when  he  resigned  to  go  into  the  Confederate  service. 
Yours  very  respectfully, 

MARCUS  B.  STOKES, 
Captain  Tenth  Infantry,  U.  S.  A. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  26T 


SHERIDAN'S  RETREAT,  JUNE  12,  1864 

When  Sheridan  started  on  his  retreat  from  Trevillian  Station 
on  Sunday  evening  about  9  P.  M.,  the  12th  of  June,  1864,  we 
hounded  him  night  and  day  through  the  hottest,  dustiest,  driest 
country  at  that  time  on  the  continent.  It  was  not  an  infrequent 
thing  for  us  to  pass  five  or  six  or  eight  of  Sheridan's  horses 
lying  dead  on  the  line  of  march.  These  horses  had  no  doubt 
broken  down,  were  tied  together  and  shot  in  their  tracks,  no 
doubt  to  prevent  their  falling  into  our  hands. 

The  reader  will  not  be  able  to  imagine  our  condition,  eating 
when  we  could  find  anything  to  eat,  sleeping  and  living  in  the 
stench  of  these  dead  animals.  There  was  one  helpful  relief 
derived  from  the  unconquerable  pluck  and  cheer  of  those  splen 
did  Virginia  women.  As  we  would  approach  a  house  "Sheridan's 
Raiders"  had  rifled  and  robbed,  as  they  supposed  of  everything 
they  had  to  eat,  these  ladies  would  rush  out,  waving  their  hand 
kerchiefs  with  unsubdued  heroism,  exclaiming  as  they  recognized 
the  Confederate  gray:  "Get  down,  we  have  a  little  bread  and 
milk  the  Yankees  did  not  get,  and  you  shall  have  it!"  God  bless 
them  and  their  descendants.  Sheridan  made  a  long  detour  to  the 
left.  Hampton  kept  his  main  column  between  Sheridan  and 
Richmond,  his  (Hampton's)  division,  commanded  by  the  incom 
parable  Butler,  with  detachments  harassing  Sheridan's  rear. 

The  night  of  the  20th  of  June,  before  we  reached  the  White 
House,  Sheridan  got  under  the  protection  of  Yankee  gunboats. 
We  dismounted  near  an  old  church.  Before  daylight  our  column 
was  put  in  motion,  Butler  leading  the  advance.  About  the  early 
dawn  of  day  he  came  upon  a  reserve  picket  post  of  the  Yankees. 
They  were  not  expecting  us,  were  taken  completely  by  surprise, 
and  every  man  at  the  post  captured  without  firing  a  shot.  This 
picket  post  was  located  at  the  White  House.  Having  taken  the 
pickets,  so  that  no  information  could  be  carried  into  the  fort, 
General  Butler  decided  to  take  the  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry 
and  charge  in  on  the  garrison  and  take  them  by  surprise.  Just 
as  he  had  formed  the  regiment  for  the  charge,  a  courier  from 
General  Hampton  came  up  post  haste  and  directed  General  But- 


268  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ler  not  to  make  any  aggressive  movement.  I  verily  believe  but 
for  this  restraining  order  we  would  have  taken  the  place  and 
everybody  in  it.  A  desultory  skirmish  was  kept  up  for  some 
time,  but  all  efforts  to  make  an  assault  on  the  fort  were 
abandoned  and  we  withdrew  to  the  adjoining  hills.  We  could 
distinctly  see  the  line  of  march  of  Sheridan's  column  many  miles 
to  the  north  of  us  by  the  great  clouds  of  dust.  Fitz.  Lee's 
division  was  posted  on  Butler's  right,  where,  having  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  gunboats  in  the  river,  they  opened  fire,  send 
ing  what  appeared  to  be  fifteen-inch  shells.  The  boys  called  them 
"flour  barrels."  Whenever  they  struck  the  ground  and  exploded 
they  would  shake  the  earth  and  make  holes  in  the  ground  large 
and  deep  enough  to  hide  a  small-sized  horse.  During  the  after 
noon  General  Hampton  withdrew  and  kept  his  command  in  a 
position  to  cover  the  approaches  to  Richmond.  Sheridan  got 
under  the  cover  of  his  gunboats,  and  after  resting  a  few  days, 
on  the  24th  June,  dispatched  Gregg  with  his  division  of  Penn- 
sylvanians.  Gregg,  too,  was  a  hustling  cavalry  officer,  none 
better,  and  he  moved  out  as  if  he  meant  to  get  to  Richmond. 
His  and  Butler's  divisions  came  together  near  Symaria  Church 
and  were  exchanging  "civilities"  across  an  open  field,  each  side 
dismounted.  Rosser's  and  Young's  brigades  of  Hampton's 
division,  and  Fitz.  Lee's  division,  were  strung  out  on  Butler's 
right,  but  were  not  engaged. 

Butler  received  an  order  from  General  Hampton,  who  was 
at  Phillips'  house,  four  miles  away,  to  attack  Gregg  vigorously. 
Butler  reported  that  if  he  moved  on  Gregg,  protected  by  woods 
and  a  line  of  fence,  it  \\;ould  be  a  terrible  loss  of  life  to  his 
(Butler's)  men,  and  suggested  that  he  had  had  Gregg's  right 
flank,  near  the  church,  reconnoitered  by  Cloud,  a  dashing,  intel 
ligent  Virginia  scout,  Dick  Hogan  and  Wallace  Miller.  He 
could  not  spare  any  troops  from  his  line  to  make  a  flank  move 
ment.  If  General  Hampton  would  detach  a  regiment  from  his 
(Butler's)  right,  he  could  strike  Gregg  a  fatal  blow  without 
a  great  loss  to  our  side.  Before  receiving  answer  to  this  sugges 
tion,  General  Fitz  Lee  rode  up  to  Butler's  headquarters  at  the 
foot  of  a  large  oak  tree,  where  the  bullets  were  flying  uncom 
fortably  close.  Upon  being  informed  of  the  situation,  Fitz 
Lee  dispatched  his  staff  officer,  Major  Dug  Ferguson,  asking  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  269 

be  allowed  to  take  command  in  the  field.  The  result  was  General 
Hampton  granted  the  request,  and  wrote  a  note  to  General 
Butler  to  take  orders  from  General  Lee.  (This  correspondence 
ought  to  be  in  existence  somewhere).  The  couriers  and  staff  were 
fully  advised  of  it  at  the  time.  However  that  may  be,  General 
Lee  fully  concurred  with  General  Butler  and  ordered  the  Ninth 
Virginia,  commanded  by  Colonel  Beale,  to  report  to  Butler,  who 
in  the  meantime  increased  the  fire  across  the  field  to  attract 
Gregg's  attention. 

Beale  was  sent  off  from  Butler's  left,  guided  by  Cloud.  Hogan 
and  Miller  and  other  scouts,  under  cover  of  a  hill  and  thick  woods, 
and  as  soon  as  he  gained  Gregg's  right,  made  a  vigorous  assault, 
which  compelled  the  latter  to  withdraw  hurriedly  and  with  a 
good  deal  of  confusion.  General  Butler  then  rushed  his  line 
across  the  open  field  and  Gregg's  discomfiture  was  complete  and 
amounted  almost  to  a  rout.  General  Butler  ordered  the  Jeff 
Davis  legion  (of  Young's  brigade),  mounted,  under  the  com 
mand  of  that  gallant  officer  and  gentleman,  Lieutenant- Colonel 
Waring  of  Savannah,  to  pursue  with  his  mounted  column,  and 
right  lustily  did  he  carry  out  his  orders. 

We  pursued  Gregg's  Yankee  cavalry  until  some  time  after 
dark,  captured  a  large  number,  as  I  now  remember  about  three 
hundred,  one  lieutenant-colonel  and  several  other  commissioned 
officers.  They  were  sent  to  Richmond  with  a  detachment,  under 
command  of  Captain  A.  P.  Butler,  of  General  Butler's  staff. 
After  Waring  had  got  fully  under  way,  cutting  and  slashing  as 
he  went,  General  Butler  followed  with  staff  and  couriers  in  his 
wTake,  meantime  ordering  his  dismounted  men  to  the  saddle. 

General  Lee,  with  his  division  and  Rosser's  and  Young's 
brigades,  moved  in  from  our  right  to  take  Gregg  on  his  left 
and  rear,  but  Gregg  was  too  fleet  of  foot  and  got  away  under 
cover  of  darkness  with  the  losses  I  have  mentioned. 

And  now  I  will  describe  a  scene  which  was  truly  pathetic  and 
distressing.  As  Ave  went  moving  along  in  a  sweeping  trot  on 
Waring's  track  with  the  rest  of  our  division,  which  had  promptly 
mounted  and  joined  in  the  pursuit,  General  Butler  observed  a 
large  man  with  long  red  side  whiskers  lying  on  the  roadside  on 
an  improvised  stretcher,  an  army  blanket  and  two  poles  attached 
to  each  end.  It  turned  out  to  be  Lieutenant- Colonel  Covode  of 


270  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  Fourth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry.  Butler  halted,  and  upon 
Colonel  Covode  being  informed  who  it  was,  said,  among  other 
things:  "This  is  the  fate  of  Sheridan's  raiders,  but,  General,  I 
have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  I  have  done  nothing  dis 
honorable  during  this  raid."  General  Butler  replied:  "However 
that  may  be,  sir,  I  certainly  would  not  remind  you  of  it  under, 
present  conditions,"  and  then  inquired  if  he  was  seriously 
wounded.  Colonel  Covode  replied:  "Yes,  my  left  arm  is  shat 
tered,  and  our  litter  bearers  dropped  me  here  when  your  cavalry 
charged  and  overtook  us."  Under  instructions  from  General 
Butler,  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor,  chief  surgeon  of  the  division,  of 
Columbia,  S.  C.,  dismounted  and  gave  Colonel  Covode  some 
apple  brandy. 

General  Butler  directed  Dr.  Taylor  to  have  him  sent  to  the 
rear  to  a  field  infirmary,  I  think  Symaria  Church,  and  properly 
attended  to.  Dr.  Taylor  found  that  in  addition  to  the  shattered 
arm  Colonel  Covode  had  received  a  pistol  shot  in  the  back,  from 
which  he  died  soon  after  reaching  the  field  hospital.  General 
Butler's  theory  was  that  Colonel  Covode  would  not  disclose  the 
fact  that  he  was  shot  in  the  back  from  pride,  as  an  indication 
of  cowardice,  but  no  such  inference  can  be  drawn  from  such  a 
wound,  as  in  a  cavalry  melee  a  man  is  as  apt  to  be  shot  in  the 
back  as  in  the  breast  or  forehead.  This  wound  of  Colonel  Covode's 
was  no  badge  of  dishonor  or  cowardice.  We  learned  afterwards 
that  Colonel  Covode  was  one  of  the  most  gallant,  meritorious 
officers  in  Gregg's  division.  Colonel  Covode's  father  was  a  dis 
tinguished  member  of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania,  extremely 
radical  towards  the  South,  and  referred  to  the  death  of  his  son 
in  the  most  bitter  and  relentless  terms,  as  we  afterwards  learned, 
and  among  other  things  said,  they  had  never  been  able  to  find  or 
recover  his  body.  No  doubt  he  was  buried  with  other  dead 
near  Symaria  Church,  and  if  the  Confederates  had  been  ap 
proached  in  a  proper  manner,  his  grave  could  have  been  iden 
tified  and  his  body  recovered.  We  were  certainly  not  to  blame 
for  his  death.  He  only  met  the  fate  of  thousands  of  good  men 
who  take  their  lives  in  their  hands  when  they  go  to  war  and 
into  battle. 

"The  next  dreadful  thing  to  a  battle  lost  is  a  battle  won." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  271 


SOME  ONE  SHOULD  WRITE  THE  HISTORY  OF 
EVERY  BRIGADE 

I  would  like  to  be  understood  in  recounting  the  services  of  the 
command  to  which  I  belonged,  "Butler's  Cavalry,"  I  do  not 
intend  to  disparage  the  gallant  deeds  of  any  other  command 
or  to  draw  any  contrast  between  our  military  performances 
and  the  achievements  of  others.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  one 
identified  with  the  other  cavalry  commands  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  will  preserve  a  record  of  their  heroic  work, 
as  I  am  trying,  perhaps  in  an  imperfect  and  cursory  manner, 
to  do  for  "Butler's  Cavalry."  I  wish  some  one  would  write  up 
the  good  work  of  the  gallant  scouts  of  other  commands,  such 
scouts  as  C.  S.  McCall  and  John  F.  McLaurin  of  the  Hampton 
Legion.  Will  their  comrades  allow  their  names  to  sink  into 
oblivion  ? 

After  disposing  of  Sheridan  at  Trevillian  Station  and  Gregg 
at  Symaria  Church,  as  I  recounted  in  a  former  paper,  Hampton's 
and  Fitz.  Lee's  divisions  were  ordered  across  the  James  River, 
below  Richmond,  to  look  after  Wilson,  who  was  turned  back 
from  his  raid  at  Staunton  River  by  the  Home  Guards  and  such 
regular  Confederate  soldiers  as  could  be  hurriedly  assembled 
at  the  river  in  his  front.  Suffice  it  to  say  in  that  connection 
Wilson  was  returning  to  Grant's  lines,  having  been  dispatched 
with  two  divisions  of  cavalry  from  Grant's  left  almost  simul 
taneously  with  Sheridan's  movement  towards  Gordonsville  and 
Lynchburg  from  Grant's  right.  When  we  started  to  cross  the 
James  River  the  latter  part  of  June,  1864,  which  we  accomplished 
on  a  pontoon  bridge  soon  in  the  morning  of  the  27th  June,  1864, 
General  Hampton  placed  General  Butler  in  command  of  the 
column  and  paid  a  hurried  visit  to  Richmond.  After  crossing 
the  James  River  General  Butler  moved  as  rapidly  as  the  heat 
and  dust  would  permit  for  the  jaded  horses,  which  had  scarcely 
been  unsaddled  since  Wednesday,  8th  day  of  June.  We 
reached  General  Lee's  headquarters  near  Petersburg  about 
midday.  General  Lee's  tents  were  pitched  in  an  oak  grove 
across  the  Appomattox  opposite  to  Petersburg.  I  here  insert  a 


272  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

correspondence  with   General   Butler,  which  explains   an   inter 
esting  incident  that  occurred  there : 

Columbia,  S.  C.,  47th  March,  1908. 
General  M.  <7.  Butler,  EdgefieU,  S.  C. 

My  Dear  General :  Won't  you  be  so  kind  as  to  tell  of  the  interview  you 
had  with  General  Robt.  E.  Lee  at  his  headquarters  near  Petersburg  on 
the  27th  day  of  June,  1864,  while  we  were  on  the  march  to  intercept  Wil 
son.  We  have  had  several  versions  of  that  conference  and  I  would  be 
greatly  obliged  if  you  give  me  the  facts. 

Very   sincerely  yours, 

U.  R.  BROOKS. 


Edgefield,  S.  C.,  March  27,  1908. 

My  Dear  Brooks:  It  has  been  a  great  many  years  since  the  incident  to 
which  you  refer  in  your  note  of  the  17th  inst.  I  have  a  very  vivid  recol 
lection  of  the  interview  and  will  give  it  to  you  as  I  remember  it.  You  know 
it  is  said  that  an  old  man  recalls  events  of  his  earlier  years  with  more 
distinctness  than  those  of  his  later  life,  and  I  believe  it  is  true.  When 
the  head  of  our  column  reached  the  point  on  the  turnpike  opposite  to 
General  Lee's  headquarters  on  the  fearfully  hot  day,  I  dismounted  and 
asked  his  orderly  to  notify  the  general  of  my  presence.  He  returned  in  a 
few  minutes  with  a  request  from  General  Lee  that  I  come  to  his  tent.  He 
received  me  with  that  stately  cordiality  which  no  other  man  that  I  ever 
met  had  in  the  same  degree. 

After  being  seated,  and  before  entering  upon  his  instructions,  he  reached 
over  and  picked  up  from  a  table  a  beautiful  white  table  napkin,  and  here 
is  about  what  followed.  He  said  to  me :  "General,  here  are  some  rolls  the 
kind  ladies  have  sent  for  my  lunch  and  you  must  have  them  with  me,  as 
you  must  be  fatigued  and  hungry  after  your  exhausting  splendid  campaign 
against  Sheridan  at  Trevillian  and  Gregg  at  Symaria  Church.  I  only  wish 
I  had  enough  to  divide  with  your  gallant  soldiers  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  so  nobly." 

These  expressions,  uttered  With  so  much  sincerity  and  feeling,  made  a 
profound  impression  on  my  then  rather  youthful  mind.  The  rolls  were  the 
likeliest  home-made  Virginia  product,  sandwiched  with  home-made  Virginia 
ham.  You  know  what  that  means,  "food  fit  for  the  gods."  I  was  hungry 
as  a  college  boy — they  are  always  hungry — but  I  declined,  saying:  "No, 
General,  you  will  require  this  lunch  yourself,  I  can  magage  to  get  along." 
"But  I  insist,"  he  replied,  and  handed  me  the  unpinned  napkin.  Inasmuch 
as  he  was  my  commanding  general  and  the  most  knightly  gentleman  and 
ablest  soldier  who  ever  trod  the  earth,  in  his  own  tent,  I  had  nothing  to 
do  but  to  obey.  While  we  were  disposing  of  the  lunch,  among  other  things 
General  Lee  remarked  that  his  latest  information  of  Wilson's  where 
abouts  on  his  return  from  Staunton  River  was  that  he  was  approaching 
the  Petersburg  and  Weldon  Railroad  in  the  neighborhood  or  at  Stony 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  273 

Creek  Station,  twenty  miles  south  of  Petersburg,  and  that  he  was  very 
anxious  to  have  me  interpose  my  command  between  Wilson  and  the  rail 
road  as  early  as  possible;  that  Wm.  H.  F.  Lee's  division  had  been  con 
testing  Wilson's  march  and  inflicted  serious  damage  upon  him,  that  the 
Holcombe  Legion  Infantry,  commanded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Crawley, 
was  at  or  near  Stony  Creek  Station,  etc.  I  replied  that  we  had  marched 
about  twenty  miles  that  morning  by  midday,  that  our  horses  were  very 
much  jaded,  but  that  if  he  desired  I  would  push  through  to  Stony  Creek 
that  night,  but  I  would  not  promise  how  many  of  our  horses  would  survive 
the  ordeal.  General  Lee  said:  "No,  I  don't  want  you  to  do  that;  move 
out  five  or  six  miles,  bivouac  for  the  night,  refresh  your  horses  and  men 
as  much  as  possible  and  move  early  tomorrow  morning  and  get  to  Stony 
Creek  as  promptly  as  possible."  This  ended  the  interview.  As  I  was  about 
to  take  my  departure  he  remarked  with  that  gracious,  sympathetic  manner 
which  was  never  excelled,  "General,  I  trust  your  artificial  limb  is  not 
troubling  you."  "No,  sir,"  I  replied,  "I  am  not  much  of  a  pedestrian,  but  in 
the  saddle  I  am  as  good  as  ever."  He  smiled,  escorted  me  out  into  the 
grove  where  his  headquarters  were  established,  shaking  my  hand  he  bade 
me  godspeed.  The  foregoing  is  the  substance  of  that  conference  as  clear 
in  my  mind  as  the  day  it  was  held.  You  know  the  rest. 

Sincerely  yours, 

M.  C.  BUTLER,  SR. 

I  am  quite  sure  this  letter  will  interest  my  readers,  so  charac 
teristic  of  both  parties  to  the  historic  conference.  Think  of  it. 
General  Lee  was  almost,  if  not  quite,  double  the  age  of  General 
Butler,  and  yet  these  general  officers,  so  different  in  age  and  mili 
tary  training,  interchanging  views  in  perfect  confidence.  Gen 
eral  Lee,  by  education  and  long  training,  a  master  in  the  art 
of  war,  General  Butler's  military  education,  from  captain  to 
major-general,  was  acquired  in  camp  and  on  the  battlefield,  the 
severest  test  of  military  qualities  and  fitness  for  a  soldier.  We 
mounted  after  the  interview,  and  with  staff  and  couriers  General 
Butler  took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  column.  We  moved  in 
column  of  fours  through  the  city  of  Petersburg,  and  after 
clearing  the  city  struck  out  in  a  southerly  direction,  skirting 
the  Petersburg  and  Weldon  Kailroad.  After  getting  out  about 
seven  miles  we  halted  for  the  night  and  bivouacked  in  a  field 
filled  with  shocks  of  bearded  wheat.  The  bearded  wheat  was  the 
forage  for  our  horses  (would  kill  the  average  horse  now),  but 
our  poor  tired  animals  appeared  to  enjoy  it.  How  the  men 
were  provided  with  rations  I  cannot  now  recall,  but  in  those 
days  we  were  young  and  did  not  quail  before  hardships.  Well, 

18— B.  C. 


274  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

we  spent  the  night  in  the  wheat  field  and  bright  and  early  by 
daylight,  the  28th  of  June,  we  were  mounted  and  set  out  for 
Stony  Creek  thirteen  miles  away,  reaching  thefe  in  time.  Mean 
time  General  Hampton  had  come  down  from  Richmond  on  the 
train  and  joined  us.  Our  vigilant  and  restless  scouts,  God  bless 
them,  kept  us  informed  of  Wilson's  whereabouts  and  movements. 
On  the  strength  of  their  information  General  Hampton  posted 
the  Holcombe  Infantry  legion  (in  which  my  old  friend  Dick 
Anderson,  now  from  Edgefield,  S.  C.,  was  a  private  soldier, 
youthful  but  a  first-class  gallant  soldier),  and  the  cavalry  dis 
mounted  with  our  right  and  left  resting  on  a  swamp,  about  two 
or  three  miles  from  Stony  Creek  Station  on  the  Petersburg  and 
Weldon  Railroad  and  a  short  distance  from  Sappony  Church. 

Wilson  undertook  to  break  through  our  lines  shortly  after 
dark  by  making  a  most  determined  assault  with  his  dismounted 
cavalry  and  horse  artillery.  We  gave  him  a  warm  reception  and 
drove  him  back.  He  renewed  the  attack  at  intervals  throughout 
the  night,  always  with  the  same  result.  When  we  would  drive 
them  back  our  boys  in  relays  wrould  lie  down  behind  the  line  of 
breastworks,  thrown  up  on  the  shortest  notice  of  fence  rails,  logs, 
rocks — any  old  thing  in  reach  that  would  stop  bullets — and 
spelled  each  other  with  naps  of  sleep,  always,  however,  with  their 
guns  ready  to  fire  at  their  sides.  Up  we  would  jump  on  the 
approach  of  Wilson's  lines  and  pour  a  volley  from  the  Enfield 
rifles  into  their  ranks  in  the  dark,  which  Wilson's  men  could  not 
stand.  Thus  was  kept  up  all  night  a  most  remarkable  combat. 

Now  let  us  give  the  facts  of  an  incident  that  came  within  the 
knowledge  of  the  couriers,  for  we  were  active  participants. 
Sometime  after  midnight  General  Butler  rode  down  our  lines 
to  the  right  to  reconnoitre.  He  came  upon  the  Thirteenth  Vir 
ginia  Cavalry,  commanded  by  that  splendid  specimen  of  a  sol 
dier,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Phillips.  Colonel  Phillips  informed  Gen 
eral  Butler  that  the  Yankees  had  one  of  their  batteries  in  the  yard 
of  the  mother  of  one  of  his  men,  Young  Epps.  That  the  young 
man,  born  and  raised  there,  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
locality,  and  could  pilot  a  colmun  on  the  west  side  of  the  swamp, 
pass  Wilson's  left  and  get  in  his  rear.  General  Butler  sent  for 
the  young  man  and  learned  from  him  that  a  flank  movement 
was  practicable.  General  Butler  reported  this  to  General  Hamp- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  275 

ton,  agreeing,  if  he  was  furnished  with  one  hundred  picked  men, 
he  would  get  in  Wilson's  rear  before  daylight.  General  Hamp 
ton  rather  reluctantly  consented,  but  directed  General  Butler  to 
select  his  men  and  undertake  the  movement. 

The  selecting  and  organization  of  the  one  hundred  men  was 
the  work  of  a  very  short  time.  We  moved  off,  with  Young  Epps 
by  General  Butler's  side  at  the  head  of  the  column,  with  officers 
and  couriers  immediately  at  their  heels,  passing  down  the  swamp 
as  quietly  as  mice,  protected  from  view  by  the  darkness  and 
dense  thicket,  we  moved  through  a  level  broom  sage  old  field, 
which  muffled  the  tread  of  the  horses  and  got  beyond  Wilson's 
extreme  left.  We  could  hear  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  battery 
in  Mrs.  Epps'  field  giving  orders  for  the  firing.  After  getting 
some  distance  beyond  Wilson's  left,  the  guide  thought  the 
crossing  of  the  swamp  was  sufficiently  firm  to  get  us  over,  con 
sequently  we  turned  in,  but  had  not  proceeded  far  when  the 
young  man  suggested  he  was  afraid  it  would  not  be  safe  on 
account  of  the  boggy  condition  of  the  swamp.  He  said  that  there 
was  another  crossing  lower  down,  so  we  pulled  out  and  proceeded 
further  down,  made  a  second  attempt,  and  again  the  guide 
thought  it  was  too  boggy.  We  could  hear  the  old  soldiers  in  the 
rear  saying  the  "dominecker  has  struck  that  boy,  etc.,  but  the 
old  general  will  sit  up  with  him  until  he  finds  a  way  over."  The 
sequel  will  show  how  unfounded  were  their  criticisms.  When 
we  pulled  out  a  second  time  General  Butler  remarked,  with 
some  impatience:  "Is  there  any  other  place  we  can  cross?" 
"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  guide,  "there  is  a  better  crossing  lower 
down  still."  Well,  we  proceeded  to  the  third  crossing,  started  in, 
and  the  guide  suggested  that  he  was  afraid  that  was  not  safe. 
General  Butler  then  turned  to  him  and  said :  "Now,  young  man, 
if  you  do  not  conduct  this  column  over  this  swamp,  I  will 
have  you  tied  to  your  horse  and  send  you  in  front."  The  result 
was  that  \ve  moved  rapidly  across,  rather  boggy  in  some  places, 
dismounted,  sent  the  horses  back,  and  deployed  in  open  order,  as 
far  as  a  hundred  men  would  reach,  with  that  formation  immedi 
ately  in  Wilson's  rear. 

Daylight  was  near  at  hand  when  we  moved  up,  opened  fire, 
before  the  enemy  had  any  knowledge  of  our  presence.  The 
scene  that  followed  baffles  description,  as  old  Bill  McKinney 


276  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

says,  the  "fur  flew."  When  General  Hampton  heard  our  fire  in 
Wilson's  rear  he  pushed  forward  to  the  main  line,  and  our  friends 
the  Yankees  were  literally  "between  two  fires!"  There  was  but 
one  thing  for  them  to  do — get  out  of  that  "neck  of  woods,"  and 
they  did  so  without  ceremony  or  leave. 

They  were  completely  demoralized.  They  would  rush  through 
our  thin  line  of  skirmishers  in  squads  of  twenty  or  thirty,  deco 
rated  with  all  kinds  of  paraphernalia  they  had  stolen  from  the 
people  on  their  raid.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  our  boys  to  have 
personal  encounters  writh  them,  when  the  butts  of  our  rifles 
served  a  good  purpose.  When  we  formed  and  moved  up  to 
attack,  it  was  discovered  that  the  "dominecker"  had  not  struck 
our  gallant  young  guide  Eppes,  who  was  among  the  foremost 
in  the  fray.  He  was  more  familiar  writh  the  swamp  than  any  of 
us,  and  may  have  been  over  cautious  as  a  pilot  across  it,  but  it 
was  not  fear  or  timidity  as  his  subsequent  conduct  proved. 

Instead  of  crossing  the  Petersburg  and  Weldon  Railroad  at 
or  near  Stony  Creek  Station,  as  the  Yankee  General  Wilson 
evidently  intended,  he  took  a  long  circuitous  route  around  Not- 
taway  Court  House  with  his  demoralized  troopers.  How  or  when 
he  reached  Grant's  lines  this  deponent  sayeth  not,  but  that  he 
had  about  the  roughest  time  of  his  life  I  think  it  will  not  be 
denied. 

The  Yankee  raiders  lost  thirteen  hundred  prisoners,  besides 
there  were  numerous  dead  and  wounded  left  on  the  fields  and 
by-ways.  But  this,  though  bad  enough,  was  not  the  worst  of  it 
for  Wilson,  for  the  demoralization  produced  by  the  mode  of  their 
escape  was  even  more  damaging  to  his  troops  than  the  losses. 

Wallace  Miller,  Schadbourne,  Rife,  Dan  Tanner,  Jim  Sloan 
and  Shake  Harris  captured  eighty  Yankees  by  themselves.  A 
clear  case  of  bluff.  They  surrounded  them.  Chews',  Pelham's 
and  Hart's  horse  artillery  covered  themselves  with  glory.  Our 
distinguished  fellow  townsman,  Colonel  D.  Cardwell,  wras  a  gal 
lant  member  of  Pelhanrs  battery.  When  Dave  Cardwell  and  a 
comrade  left  Appomattox  they  stopped  at  a  blacksmith  shop  and 
asked  to  have  their  horses  shod.  The  man  at  the  anvil  said:  "I 
must  be  paid  before  I  shoe  the  horses."  "Very  well,"  they  said, 
"we  will  shoot  you."  The  blacksmith  looked  at  them  and  said  to 
Cardwell:  "Give  me  the  buttons  on  your  jacket  and  I  will  shoe 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  277 

both  horses."  The  trade  was  made  and  each  complied  with  the 
contract. 

General  Wilson  was  one  of  the  ablest,  most  dashing  cavalry 
officers  in  the  Yankee  army — equal  to  Sheridan,  Pleasanton  or 
any  of  them. 

We  learned  from  the  Yankee  prisoners  that  he  was  always 
well  mounted,  a  fine  horseman  and  dressed  in  the  latest,  most 
attractive  style.  General  Kautz,  commanding  one  of  Wilson's 
divisions,  moved  up  the  Rowanty  Creek,  and  before  he  could 
reach  the  railroad  he  encountered  Fitz.  Lee,  who  smashed  and 
demolished  him,  taking  a  number  of  prisoners  and  vehicles  his 
men  had  stolen  from  the  people.  Kautz  and  his  men  had  served 
awhile  under  the  old  Yankee  General  Beast  F.  Butler,  and  ac 
quired  the  habit  of  stealing  everything  in  sight.  Kautz,  how 
ever,  got  through  in  the  night  time  by  by-ways  and  unfre 
quented  roads  and  made  his  escape.  I  haven't  the  data  before  me, 
but  besides  the  thirteen  hundred  prisoners,  horses,  wagons, 
ambulances  and  cannon,  etc.,  we  had  knocked  Sheridan  out  at 
Trevillian  two  weeks  before,  and  this  defeat  of  Wilson  was  a 
terrible  blow  to  Grant's  cavalry.  We  pushed  Wilson  until  2 
o'clock  that  fearfully  hot  June  day  and  had  to  stop  from  sheer 
exhaustion. 

Our  losses  in  killed  and  wounded  were  heavy.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Stokes  of  the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry  behaved 
with  great  gallantry.  Among  others  Lieutenant- Colonel  Crow- 
ley  of  the  Holcombe  legion  was  badly  but  not  dangerously 
wounded.  Let  me  relate  a  little  incident  that  I  witnessed,  which 
shows  to  what  straits  our  medical  department  was  reduced. 
The  surgeons  had  converted  Sappony  Church,  not  far  from  the 
battlefield,  into  a  field  hospital.  On  our  return  to  camp  at  Stony 
Creek,  General  Butler,  accompanied  by  Colonel  Rutledge,  stopped 
at  the  church  to  inquire  after  the  wounded.  The  table  upon 
which  the  surgeons  had  operated  was  piled  up  with  arms  and 
legs,  under  a  large  oak  tree.  The  poor  wounded  men  were  inside 
the  church.  After  getting  all  the  information  possible,  General 
Butler,  who  offered  any  assistance  in  his  power,  asked  the  surgeon 
in  charge  if  he  had  anything  to  drink,  stating  that  we  were  about 
to  expire  from  loss  of  sleep,  hunger,  thirst  and  heat.  The  doctor 
replied  that  he  had  nothing  in  the  way  of  stimulants  except 


278  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

sorghum  whiskey.  The  General  and  Colonel  Rutledge  exclaimed : 
"Give  us  some  of  it;  any  port  in  a  storm."  When  they  tasted  it 
the  stuff  was  so  vile  they  had  to  reject  it.  General  Butler  said : 
"Doctor,  are  you  giving  these  wounded  men  this  for  a  stim 
ulant?"  "Well,  sir,"  the  doctor  replied,  "it  is  all  we  have." 
General  Butler  remarked:  "If  Yankee  bullets  don't  kill  these 
poor  fellows,  that  stuff  will." 

We  reached  the  bivouac  about  sunset,  and  if  we  did  not  sleep 
the  sleep  of  the  righteous,  we  slept  the  sleep  of  the  weary. 

Thus  ended  the  chapter  of  the  most  brilliant  and  remarkable 
achievement  of  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
or  any  other  army.  General  Hampton  has  frequently  said  that 
General  Butler  was  the  best  soldier  he  ever  saw.  Sheridan  at 
Trevillian,  Gregg  at  Symaria  Church,  Wilson  at  Sappony 
Church,  all  defeated  and  put  to  flight  within  a  period  of  twenty- 
one  days,  from  the  8th  to  the  28th  of  June,  inclusive.  All  three 
of  them  largely  superior  in  numbers,  equipment,  supplies,  etc., 
but  they  did  not  have  the  grit  and  staying  qualities  of  our  boys. 
All  three  of  them  the  ablest  in  the  Yankee  army.  "The  coward 
was  the  exception  in  the  Confederate  army." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  279 


WILSON'S  RAID 

About  the  20th  day  of  June,  1864,  Wilson  and  Kautz  started 
on  a  raid  which  to  them  at  that  time  was  pretentious  in  its  pro 
portions.  The  South  wyas  bleeding  at  every  pore;  starvation, 
battle,  vandalism,  had  done  their  worst,  and  the  young  Con 
federacy  was  trembling  in  the  balance,  our  glorious  banner,  the 
cross  of  Southern  glory,  that  had  written  its  history  on  many  a 
bloody  field,  had  been  torn  and  riddled  and  tattered,  yet  it 
proudly  waved  and  its  people's  hopes  wrere  not  dead.  The  fields 
of  Virginia  had  been  incardined  with  the  best  blood  of  a  great 
and  magnanimous  people;  Sheridan,  in  his  fiendish  hold,  had 
overrun  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  after  leaving  nothing  but 
charred  ruins,  weeping  and  desolation  in  his  wrake,  had  sent  to 
Grant  his  memorable  dispatch :  "I  have  depopulated  the  valley  of 
Virginia  so  that  a  crow  flying  over  it  must  carry  his  rations 
with  him." 

The  cup  of  sorrow  of  "our  people"  was  filled  to  the  brim  with 
tears  and  tribulations,  and  hope  seemed  to  have  plumed  her 
flight  for  other  spheres.  This,  to  those  spirits  of  Yankee  enter 
prise,  Wilson  and  Kautz,  was  the  opportunity  of  their  lives,  and 
their  lust  for  booty  and  beauty  knew  no  bounds;  they  would 
eclipse  in  the  valley  of  Petersburg  the  glorious  ( ? )  vandalism 
of  the  illustrious  Sheridan,  whose  greatest  renown  was  for  fight 
ing  women  and  children  and  burning  and  ravishing  their  homes. 
Their  hearts  were  elated  with  the  prospect,  So  they  went  forth 
with  about  4,000  of  their  best  men,  magnificently  mounted  and 
caparisoned,  and  right  through  our  best  country  they  marched 
and  devastated,  until  their  infernal  appetites  for  plunder  and 
desolation  were  about \satiated.  We  had  no  men  to  follow  them, 
as  we  had  our  hands  full  with  Sheridan,  whom  we  had  recently 
ignominiously  defeated  at  Trevillian  Depot,  yet  we  managed  to 
detach  Butler  and  his  men  and  he  was  prepared  to  meet  them 
on  their  return.  They  expected  to  cross  the  railroad  at  or  near 
Stoney  Creek,  and  here  Wilson,  laden  heavily  with  his  stolen 
goods,  came  on  the  night  of  the  28th,  a  dark  and  starless  night, 
but  he  met  the  surprise  of  his  life.  Butler  and  his  men  were  there 


280  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

to  meet  him — right  in  his  way  he  met  them — and  our  glorious 
Hampton  was  also  to  the  front.  We  had  thrown  up  temporary 
breastworks  of  fence  rails  across  the  line  of  Wilson's  march,  and 
behind  these  reclined  in  calm  expectancy  our  gallant  men.  The 
scene  was  in  a  sparse  woodland,  the  writer  remembers  it  well,  and 
here  he  reported  to  his  chief,  the  man  who  to  him  above  all  others 
embodied  all  that  was  great,  grand,  glorious  and  chivalric,  that 
great  man,  General  Wade  Hampton,  then  the  chief  cavalry 
officer  of  all  the  South ;  he  and  General  Butler  were  the  favorite 
children  of  dear  old  South  Carolina,  and  were  as  her  nemeses, 
ever  ready  to  do  godly  deeds  of  valor  in  her  honor.  While  wait 
ing  for  the  enemy  at  our  place  of  rendezvous,  as  above  stated,  a 
curious  incident,  illustrative  of  the  intelligence  of  the  horse, 
occurred  to  the  writer.  He  was  lying  in  a  bed  of  leaves  by  the  side 
of  General  Hampton,  awaiting  his  directions  (he  never  ordered), 
and  was  half  asleep,  tired  and  weary,  when  he  felt  a  sudden 
jerking  at  his  jacket,  and  springing  up,  found  his  horse  was 
doing  the  pulling,  then  the  horse  loosed  his  hold,  rustled  the  leaves 
with  his  nose  and  whinneyed,  thus  telling  his  master  he  was 
hungry.  About  midnight  Wilson  came,  and  evidently  knowing 
that  we  were  there,  prepared  for  the  attack ;  dismounting  his  men 
and  conducting  them  in  the  most  secret  array,  they  fairly  crept 
upon  us,  and  suddenly  they  poured  forth  such  a  fusilade  and 
rent  the  air  with  such  commotion  that  hell  seemed  to  have  broken 
forth.  Confusion  amongst  us  horsemen  momentarily  ensued, 
and  the  writer  charged  around  like  mad,  crying  for  General 
Hampton,  when  suddenly,  right  by  his  side,  calmly  the  general 
responded  "Here  am  I."  Our  boys  gallantly,  joyously,  hilariously 
responded  to  the  enemy  and  rose  up  and  with  a  tremendous  rebel 
yell  were  upon  them,  then  pandemonium  with  the  enemy  fol 
lowed,  and  in  a  few  moments  it  was  every  fellow  for  himself  and 
all  went  fleeing  wildly,  madly,  frenziedly,  towards  Reams  Sta 
tion,  a  few  miles  away.  Kautz  had  tried  for  an  exit  at  Reams 
Station  and  there  had  met  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  and  his  men 
and  had  fared  no  better  than  Wilson.  By  dawn,  both  Wilson  and 
Kautz  were  in  the  toils  so  completely  that  their  only  thought  was 
escape.  At  this  juncture,  the  writer  all  alone  undertook  to  "find" 
the  enemy,  and  wending  his  way  through  the  great  forest  near 
the  road  to  Reams  Station,  he  suddenly  emerged  into  view  of  that 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  281 

highway,  when  he  beheld  a  scene  long  to  be  remembered.  The 
road  was  packed  with  the  enemy,  every  vestige  of  booty  gone, 
some  mounted,  many  dismounted,  all  fleeing  in  the  wildest  con 
fusion  to,  they  knew  not  where,  anywhere  to  get  away  from  the 
hated  rebels.  Then  he  dashed  upon  them  and  commanded  those 
near  him  to  surrender,  which  they  willingly  did,  and  he  marched 
seventeen  of  them,  still  heavily  armed,  into  our  command  and 
turned  them  over  to  General  Butler.  Now  all  means  of  escape  to 
our  valiant  foe  seemed  to  be  cut  off,  and  we  were  hoping  to  cap 
ture  him  bodily;  it  was  about  noon,  a  hot  June  day,  General 
Hampton,  in  person,  with  his  staff  and  about  one  thousand  men, 
lay  concealed  in  the  woods  near  the  railroad,  waiting  for  Kautz, 
and  Shadburne,  desiring  to  find  that  worthy,  started  again  for  the 
road  where  he  had  captured  the  seventeen,  six  of  his  own  scouts 
accompanied  him,  when  one  of  his  greatest  adventures,  and  the 
one  that  won  for  him  his  captaincy,  ensued.  As  he  approached 
the  edge  of  the  forest  before  mentioned,  six  men,  an  advance 
guard  of  the  enemy,  met  him  and  were  soon  captured,  when,  as 
he  entered  the  woods,  the  enemy,  as  far  as  he  could  see,  were 
before  him.  Then  Miller,  of  South  Carolina,  said,  "What  are 
you  going  to  do?"  Shadburne  coolly  responded,  "Capture  them." 
"My  God,"  said  Miller.  Then  wheeling  into  the  edge  of  the  road, 
Shadburne,  in  stentorian  tones,  commanded  the  enemy  to  sur 
render,  saying  that  he  was  a  brigadier-general  and  that  he  had 
Mosby  at  his  back,  and  ordered  his  men  forward,  and  they  defiled 
into  view,  one,  two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  the  command  rang  out, 
"Ready,  aim"  (and  every  arm  was  to  the  fore),  when  the  enemy 
responded,  "Don't  shoot,  don't  shoot;  we'll  surrender."  Without 
halting  them,  they  were  required  to  throw  down  their  arms,  they 
threw  them  into  the  road,  then  turning  about,  Shadburne  dis 
patched  one  of  his  men  to  General  Hampton  with  the  information 
that  "he  was  coming  with  the  enemy,"  commanded,  "Forward, 
march;  form  fours,  gallop,  march,"  and  in  a  few  moments 
swooped  upon  and  around  General  Hampton,  who  exclaimed: 
"Shadburne,  how  many  men  did  you  have?"  He  answered,  "Six, 
but  look  out,  Kautz  is  on  us,"  and  such  was  true.  We  had  cap 
tured  his  advance  guard  of  eighty  men,  and  seeing  no  interrup 
tion,  and  seeing  the  gallant  charge  of  his  men,  he  supposed  all 
was  well  and  came  thundering  down  upon  General  Hampton 


282  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

where  he  lay  with  his  guns  unlimbered  and  ready,  and  before  they 
could  work,  broke  through  and  with  about  300  men  escaped. 

General  Hampton  directed  Shadburne  to  take  €00  men  and  pur 
sue,  and  he,  in  response,  rushed  to  the  colonels  of  regiments  and 
called  for  men  and  soon  had  the  200  and  was  about  to  march 
when  Colonel  Wright,  of  Georgia,  commanding  Young's  Brigade, 
commanded  that  he  stop,  and  '"that  if  he  undertook  that  feat 
again  (calling  out  his  men  without  his  orders),  he  would  place 
him  under  arrest,"  and  the  200  were  disbanded,  and  by  the  time 
Shadburne  had  presented  General  Hampton's  order  and  another 
200  were  counted  off,  the  enemy  were  so  far  in  the  lead  that  his 
capture  was  impossible.  Our  march  was  fast  and  furious,  but 
of  no  avail,  we  did  not  even  sight  him,  and  Colonel  Wright  was  to 
blame,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  Shadburne  ever  forgave 
him,  but  he  could  not  do  otherwise,  for  Colonel  Wright  was  a 
gallant  soldier,  a  gentleman,  a  true  friend  and  technically  he 
was  right. 

Wilson  and  Kautz  slipped  into  their  lines  with  2,000  less  than 
when  they  started,  their  ammunition  gone,  their  valor  gone,  their 
honor,  if  they  ever  had  any,  gone,  and  were  but  little  heard  of 
ever  after,  so  requiescat  in  pace. 

The  gallant  six  who  were  with  Shadburne  in  the  capture  of 
those  eighty  men  were,  so  far  as  his  memory  bears  him,  as  fol 
lows,  to  wit :  James  M.  Sloan,  of  North  Carolina ;  Davis  Smith, 
of  Georgia ;  Wallace  Miller,  of  South  Carolina ;  Rife,  of  Mis 
sissippi  ;  Daniel  Tanner,  of  Georgia,  and  Shakespeare  Harris,  of 
North  Carolina.  Of  course,  this  is  from  memory,  and  the  writer 
would  greatly  deplore  doing  injustice  to  any  of  his  gallant  scouts 
by  omission ;  they  all  would  have  been  present  had  they  not  been 
on  other  duty,  for  they  were  often  tried  and  were  never  found 
wanting.  They  were  picked  men,  selected  from  the  entire  cavalry 
command  on  account  of  their  well-known  gallantry  and  courage 
and  devotion,  and  in  all  his  experience  Shadburne  never  had  one 
of  his  regeular  posse  recreant,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  never 
winced  nor  wailed,  but  were  ever  to  the  fore.  They  were  a  band 
of  good  fellows,  brave,  chivalrous,  kind,  gentle,  honorable  and 
true  as  steel,  and  they  loved  their  leader  with  their  lives.  And 
here  it  may  be  said  that  but  three  of  them  were  killed,  although 
they  were  in  many  a  conflict.  These  were  Sergeant  McCalla,  of 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  283* 

South  Carolina;  Bourck,  of  the  same  State,  and  Cleel,  of  Texas. 
Their  spirits  winged  their  flight  in  front  of  the  enemy,  their 
hearts  were  warm  in  love  of  their  native  land.  Bourck,  it  was 
said,  was  the  first  man  to  volunteer  from  his  beloved  State.  For 
each  of  them  many  tears  have  been  shed,  and  may  God  rest  their 
souls. 

"There  is  a  tear  for  all  that  die, 

A  mourner  o'er  the  humblest  grave, 
But  nations  swell  the  funeral  cry, 

And  triumph  weeps  above  the  brave." 

GEO.  D.  SHADBURNE, 

Chief  of  Scouts. 
This  December  17th,  1908,  at  San  Francisco. 


284  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


GRAVELLY  RUN,  VIRGINIA 

On  the  23rd  August,  1864,  General  Butler  was  directed  to 
relieve  Barringer's  North  Carolina  Brigade  of  Cavalry  on 
picket,  to  the  north  of  Eeams  Station.  Butler  crossed  the  Run 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd,  about  the  time  Barringer  be 
gan  his  movement  retiring  from  his  picket  line.  The  Yankees 
advanced  in  force  to  attack.  The  result  was  Butler  was  com 
pelled  to  meet  the  attack  and  endeavor  to  reach  the  picket  lines 
from  which  Barringer  had  retired.  The  front  of  the  attacking 
line  was  led  by  Colonel  Spear,  commanding  a  Pennsylvania 
brigade  of  cavalry,  supported  by  a  division  of  cavalry,  and  as  it 
was  understood  at  the  time,  had  infantry  supports. 

Colonel  Spear  had  been  a  sergeant  in  one  of  the  mounted  regi 
ments  in  the  old  army,  a  most  vigorous  and  aggressive  fighter. 
When  he  locked  horns  with  the  advance  of  Butler's  division 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd  of  August,  it  meant  that  there 
was  something  doing  and  business  ahead.  When  Butler  had 
deployed  his  men  in  an  open  field  to  fight  on  foot,  Spear  sent 
forward  about  a  squadron  or  two  and  made  a  mounted  charge 
on  a  part  of  Butler's  line,  and  broke  through  it.  The  result  was 
some  demoralization  in  a  part  of  Rosser's  and  Dunovant's  brigades. 
General  Butler  discovered  the  break  in  his  line,  which  had  not 
retired  more  than  a  hundred  yards,  and  rallied  them,  calling  their 
attention  to  Sergeant  Shands,  one  of  the  most  gallant  men  in 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  of  Captain  Goodwyn's  Com 
pany  "C,"  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  who  was  kneeling  on 
an  eminence  on  one  knee,  keeping  up  a  deliberate  fire  with  his 
rifle  after  Spear's  column  had  passed  to  his  rear.  While  Butler 
was  reforming  the  line  to  renew  the  attack,  Colonel  Rutledge  of 
the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry  and  some  other  field  officers 
suggested  that  the  men  were  too  much  demoralized  to  renew  the 
attack.  It  is  proper  to  mention  that  the  brigade  commanders 
of  Butler's  division,  Rosser,  Young  and  Dunovant,  were  all  suf 
fering  from  wounds  previously  received  and  not  on  duty,  although 
present  on  the  field.  General  Butler  hurriedly  called  a  sort  of 
counsel  of  war,  suggested  that  nothing  of  a  serious  nature  had 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  285 

occurred  to  demoralize  the  men,  and  he  intended  to  order  them 
forward  to  attack.  When  the  brave  Yankee  cavalry  broke 
through  our  lines  they  surrounded  General  Butler,  and  he  seemed 
only  disturbed  enough  to  call  to  some  of  his  dismounted  men  to 
run  these  fellows  away,  which  they  promptly  did.  I  never 
witnessed  such  a  cool  thing  before  or  since.  The  Yankees  fought 
desperately  and  why  they  did  not  kill  General  Butler  was  be 
cause,  I  suppose,  the  good  Lord  was  not  ready  for  him  to  die. 
He  seemed  to  have  a  charmed  life.  Generals  Young  and  Duno- 
vant  were  not  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  but  Rosser  was,  although 
still  off  duty,  suffering  from  a  severe  wound  he  had  received  on 
the  llth  June,  1864,  at  the  Trevillian  Station  battle.  Rosser 
promptly  interceded,  and  remarked  that  if  his  men  were  de 
moralized,  which  he  did  not  believe,  "he  could  fight  it  out  of  them 
before  night."  General  Butler  then  ordered  the  entire  dis 
mounted  line  to  move  forward  and  attack  the  enemy.  There  was 
nothing  in  their  conduct  to  indicate  the  men  were  demoralized, 
for  they  moved  forward  in  perfect  order,  swept  over  the  field, 
including  the  eminence  which  Shands  had  defended.  It  really 
did  seem  to  me  that  our  men  were  inspired  by  General  Butler's 
cool,  deliberate  way  of  giving  orders,  while  the  Yankees  were 
fighting  hand  to  hand  all  round  him.  Our  cavalry  drove  the 
Yankees  into  a  piece  of  woods.  The  Yankees  retired  stubbornly, 
contesting  every  foot  of  ground.  A  rail  fence  intervened  be 
tween  the  lines.  Our  line  was  advancing  in  good  order.  General 
Butler  spurred  his  horse  and  leaped  the  fence,  calling  to  the  men 
to  forward.  They  responded  with  alacrity  and  vim,  and  with  the 
rebel  yell  drove  everything  before  them.  The  fight  was  kept  up 
until  after  dark,  when  each  side  improvised  breastworks  of  rails, 
logs,  rocks,  and  such  material  of  defense  as  old  soldiers  on  both 
sides  understood  how  to  provide  without  the  instructions  of 
engineers  or  technical  advice.  It  was  a  fierce  combat,  the  losses 
were  severe  on  both  sides.  The  Yankees  did  not  occupy  the  line 
Barringer  had  been  relieved  of,  and  were  defeated  in  their  attempt 
to  gain  a  lodgment  on  General  Lee's  right.  There  were  some 
amusing  incidents  among  the  tragic  events  of  that  bloody  day. 
Among  others  is  the  following  story : 

Captain  George  Tupper,  of  Company  D,  Fifth  South  Carolina 
Cavalry,  was  lying  with  his  men  behind  a  pile  of  fence  rails,  logs, 


286  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

etc.,  after  dark,  driving  everything  in  his  front  and  resisting  with 
imperturbable  gallantry  the  furious  assaults  of  the  enemy.  One 
of  his  men  said,  "Captain,  my  gun  is  foul  and  wilHiot  fire."  Tup- 
per  replied,  "Never  mind,  sir,  the  man  next  to  you  will  be  killed 
directly  and  you  can  get  his  gun."  The  result  was  the  man  with 
the  "foul  gun"  was  reconciled  and  held  his  place  in  the  line, 
patiently  awaiting  the  killing  of  his  comrade. 

This  Gravelly  Run  fight  was  only  one  of  the  great  number  of 
fierce  combats  which  occurred  between  the  cavalry  of  the  two 
armies  during  the  campaign  of  1864  scarcely  mentioned  in  the 
general  history  of  the  war.  They  were  decisive  in  their  respective 
spheres  in  aiding  to  keep  up  and  maintain  General  Lee's  matchless 
system  of  defense  of  the  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and  as  a  rule 
success  was  on  the  side  of  the  Confederate  cavalry,  as  in  the  main 
lines  it  was  on  this  side  of  Lee's  incomparable  infantry. 

Shands,  who  behaved  so  gallantly  in  this  fight,  was  promoted 
to  lieutenant  of  his  company. 

Governor  Garvin  Dugas  Shands  was  born  in  Spartanburg  Dis 
trict,  South  Carolina,  5th  December,  1844;  joined  the  Methodist 
church  September,  1859;  educated  at  Wofford  College,  South 
Carolina ;  took  law  course  at  University  of  Kentucky,  graduating 
January,  1870 ;  twenty  years  of  age  at  close  of  war ;  removed  from 
South  Carolina  to  Mississippi  in  1866 ;  elected  member  of  Missis 
sippi  legislature  1875;  reflected  in  1877,  serving  four  years  as 
member;  elected  lieutenant-governor  of  Mississippi  in  1881  for  a 
term  of  four  years ;  reflected  1885  for  a  like  term ;  lay  member  of 
North  Mississippi  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South ;  member  of  general  conference  at  Nashville,  1882, 
and  member  of  centenary  conference  at  Baltimore  in  1884;  also 
member  of  general  conference  at  Richmond  in  1886  of  said  church. 
He  is  one  of  the  ablest  presiding  officers  in  the  United  States.  At 
the  Methodist  Conference  held  in  Richmond,  Va.,  in  1886  he  dis 
tinguished  himself  as  a  debater. 

It  was  at  Gravelly  Run  that  the  gallant  Major  Morgan  of  the 
Fifth  Cavalry  lost  his  leg.  It  is  seldom  that  any  regiment  had 
such  brave  officers  as  this  regiment.  John  Dunovant  was  the  first 
colonel,  and  after  his  promotion  T.  P.  Jeffords  was  made  colonel, 
and  when  he  was  killed  at  Burgesse's  Mill,  27th  October,  1864,  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  287 

handsome  and  brave  Zimmerman  Davis  was  promoted  colonel  and 
was  the  last  commander  of  this  glorious  old  regiment. 

But  why  should  we  speak  of  the  gallantry  of  any  of  Butler's 
Cavalry  when  nearly  all  of  them  deserved  promotion?  Can  we 
ever  forget  the  fighting  qualities  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stokes, 
of  the  Fourth;  and  the  gallant  Major  Ferguson  of  the  Sixth; 
the  gallantry  of  Major  Emanuel  of  the  Fourth,  and  its  handsome 
and  distinguished  colonel,  B.  H.  Rutledge;  the  discipline  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  L.  P.  Miller,  and  the  mild  and  brave  Colonel 
Hugh  K.  Aiken  of  the  Sixth? 

Can  the  survivors  of  Butler's  Cavalry  forget  the  gallant  deeds 
of  our  officers,  a  few  of  whom  are  Captain  Humphrey,  Captain 
Goodwyn,  Lieutenant  John  Bauskett,  Jack  Bunch,  Cobb,  Minis 
Sullivan,  John  D.  Brown,  and  M.  L.Donaldson;  and  of  the 
privates  Charles  Montague,  E.  J.  Dennis,  Glenn  Davis,  Wash 
Allen,  E.  L.  Wells,  Wade  Manning,  and  others  too  numerous  to 
mention  ? 

All  of  Butler's  scouts  deserved  promotion,  but  they  could  not  be 
spared  from  that  very  dangerous  and  peculiar  duty  which 
required  nerve  and  intelligence  such  as  but  few  men  possessed. 

When  General  P.  M.  B.  Young  was  shot  through  the  shoulder  at 
Ashland  on  the  29th  May,  1864,  Wade  Manning  caught  him  and 
kept  him  seated  in  the  saddle.  Wade  was  recommended  for  pro 
motion,  but  from  some  cause  never  got  his  commission. 

The  able  and  efficient  sheriff  of  Newberry  is  one  of  the  best 
officials  in  the  United  States,  and  he  was  as  good  a  soldier  as  there 
was  in  Butler's  Cavalry.  He  was  born  on  the  13th  February, 
1846,  on  Enoree  River,  in  Union  County,  South  Carolina,  and 
joined  Company  K,  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry  in  1862.  When 
he  left  his  parental  roof  for  the  army  to  don  the  gray,  I  don't 
suppose  that  he  had  ever  been  ten  miles  aw^ay  from  home  before 
in  his  life.  The  very  night  that  he  reached  the  army  on  the 
coast  of  South  Carolina  he  was  sent  out  on  picket,  and  his  post 
happened  to  be  in  some  high  weeds  where  he  was  hard  to  find  in 
the  dark.  When  the  corporal  of  the  guard  came  to  relieve  him, 
failing  to  see  him,  he  called  out,  "Sentinel,  Sentinel,  Oh,  Sentinel." 
This  young,  green  soldier,  being  tired  of  the  misnomer,  cried  out 
in  a  loud  tone  to  the  corporal,  "I  let  you  know,  sir,  that  my  name 


288  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

is  not  Sentinel,  but  Munce  Buford  of  Enoree  River,  sir."  Munce 
never  got  sick  nor  missed  a  battle  that  his  regiment  was  in. 

On  the  . .  J  April,  1865,  when  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  met 
General  Sherman  at  the  Bennett  House,  four  miles  west  of  Dur 
ham,  N.  C.,  to  consult  about  the  surrender  of  his  army,  General 
Hampton  tendered  him  an  escort  of  cavalry,  the  Fifth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  under  Colonel  Zimmerman  Davis.  General 
Hampton,  anticipating  the  very  memorable  meeting  between  the 
"house  burner"  (General  Sherman)  and  himself,  rode  with  mem 
bers  of  his  staff,  Major  Lowndes  among  the  number.  His  orderly, 
Wade  H.  Manning,  carried  the  "flag  of  truce";  Major  Lowndes 
and  Munce  Buford  rode  with  him.  The  "Bennett  House"  is  still 
standing  and  is  an  ordinary  little  frame  building. 

On  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  March,  1865,  when  Butler  and 
his  cavalry  rode  into  Kilpatrick's  camp  his  (Kilpatrick's) 
splendid  spotted  saddle  horse  was  captured  and  Kilpatrick 
escaped  in  his  night  clothes.  A  short  time  thereafter  a  flag  of 
truce  was  sent  to  General  Hampton  begging  him  please  to  let 
Kilpatrick  have  his  favorite  steed  back,  and,  of  course,  General 
Hampton  granted  the  request. 

On  that  morning  of  the  '.,  d  of  April,  1865,  General  Hampton's 
heart  was  very  full,  tears  rose  unbidden  to  the  bronze  cheeks  of 
the  Confederate  chief,  and  the  same  good  right  hand  that  wielded 
the  sabre  in  the  grand  old  Confederate  cause  was  raised  to  brush 
away  the  tears  that  trickled  down  his  cheek  when  in  his  anguish 
he  contemplated  the  terrible  duty  assigned  to  him  as  an  actor  in 
that  awful  war  which  had  cost  the  lives  of  so  many  gallant  men. 
It  was  there  that  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  and  Wade  Hampton 
met;  it  was  there  they  parted  only  to  meet  in  sadness  the  men 
who  had  served  them  both  so  well  until  the  curtain  fell  and  they, 
with  Lee,  felt  the  absolute  desolation  of  life. 

Riding  to  the  "Bennett  House"  Kilpatrick,  mounted  upon  his 
spotted  horse  (captured  as  stated  above  by  the  superb  cavalry 
leader,  M.  C.  Butler,  and  returned  to  him  by  General  Hampton  at 
his  request)  came  "alongside,"  as  the  sailors  say,  of  Hampton, 
who  was  mounted  on  his  favorite  bay  (Butler),  and  bantered  the 
General  for  a  leap.  The  General,  though  doubtless  in  no  humor 
for  sport  of  that  nature,  yet  unwilling  to  decline  "a  dare,"  in  old 
schoolboy  parlance,  made  a  courteous  motion  in  a  graceful  manner 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  289 

to  Kilpatrick,  and  Kilpatrick,  touching  his  horse  with  a  spur, 
rose  to  take  the  fence,  but  coming  down  came  belly  to  rail  and 
struggled  over  it.  Then,  with  an  ingathering  of  the  rein,  feeling 
the  mouth  of  his  steed  with  a  woman's  hand  and  "a  smile  on  the 
face"  his  horse  Butler  rose  and  as  gently  as  a  bird  on  wing  landed 
on  the  other  side  with  Hampton  firmly  seated. 

When  General  Johnston  arrived  at  the  "Bennett  House"  the 
Yankees  were  very  courteous  and  offered  to  hold  the  horses  of  the 
generals  and  others.  Munce  Buford  said  no  d — d  Yankee  could 
hold  his  horse.  On  going  back  to  our  lines,  Major  Lowndes  asked 
Buford  why  he  did  not  let  the  Yank  hold  his  horse,  and  he  replied 
that  he  would  not  trust  his  horse  with  a  Yankee,  because  they 
would  all  steal  horses.  One  of  the  Yanks  offered  Wade  Manning 
some  coffee,  but  Wade  made  him  taste  it  first. 

General  Sherman's  terms  of  surrender  were  so  easy  that  the 
authorities  in  Washington  would  not  agree  to  the  contract  as 
fixed  by  these  two  generals  who  had  planned  and  fought  many 
bloody  battles  against  each  other.  They  met  again  the  next  day, 
and  again  on  the  ^>th ;  also  on  the  :  Gth  April,  1865,  when  the  final 
surrender  was  made  by  General  Johnston,  who  was  one  of  the 
finest  organizers  of  armies  that  the  world  has  ever  produced.  His 
retreats  were  so  masterly  that  frequently  they  hurt  his  antagonist 
more  than  if  he  had  defeated  him  in  battle. 

For  thirty-seven  years  after  the  surrender  Munce  Buford  never 
met  Major  Lowndes  until  Sunday,  the  13th  of  April,  1902,  at 
General  Hampton's  funeral  in  Columbia,  S.  C. 

GENERAL  HAMPTON. 

Moan,   river  moan, 
On  to  the  far-off  restless  sea, 
For  the  warrior   sleeps — and   we, 

Are  sad  and  lone. 

Soldiers!  today, 

"Rest  arms" — and  guard  your  gallant  chief; 
And  wear  your  sombre  garb  of  grief, 

Confederate  gray. 

Oh!  little  band, 

Who  followed  him  with  hearts  so  brave, 
Through  fields  of  blood  your  homes  to  save, 

Our  sunny  land. 

19— B.  C. 


290  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Sigh  night  winds  low; 
Wail  in  thy  saddest  minor  chord, 
For  who  can  tell  in  line  or  word,  * 

The  South-land's  woe. 

Wave,  banners  wave, 
Droop  over  the%  warrior's  breast, 
Choir  of  angels;  sing  to  rest, 

Our  hero  brave. 
12  April,  1002,  — ELLIE  BROOKS  JONES. 


BOTLER  AND  HlS  CAVALRY,   1861-1865.  291 


LETTERS  FROM  THE  FRONT 

Camp  Near  Malone's  Crossing, 

July  22nd,  1864. 

My  Dear  Sister:  I  returned  to  camp  from  the  Huguenot 
Springs  Hospital  five  days  ago,  and,  am  happy  to  say,  I  am  now 
almost  well  again.  I  have  suffered  much  since  I  came  to  Virginia 
with  toothache,  chills  and  fever,  and,  worse  than  all,  from  a  severe 
sprain  in  the  small  of  my  back,  which  I  received  in  the  Sunday's 
fight  at  Trevillian  by  running  up  a  steep  railroad  bank.  I  would 
not  tell  you  all  before,  but  this  and  the  severe  exhaustion  was  the 
cause  of  my  f  aintings.  The  Yankees  were  pouring  a  most  terrific 
fire  of  grape,  canister,  and  small  arms  right  down  the  railroad, 
and,  you  may  readily  imagine,  it  was  necessary  to  get  across  that 
place  as  soon  as  possible.  It  was  here  that  a  ball  passed  through 
my  coat  over  the  right  hip,  which  I  wrote  to  you  all  about  some 
time  ago. 

I  heard  from  Watt  Taylor,  who  came  from  General  Hampton's 
headquarters,  that  Jack  Preston  received  a  dispatch  this  morning 
informing  him  that  Willie  was  killed  yesterday  near  Atlanta,  Ga. 
I  am  so  sorry  to  hear  of  it,  not  only  on  account  of  Willie  himself, 
but  on  account  of  the  family.  Mary  Canty  was  to  have  been 
married  about  this  time,  and  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  postponed 
again,  as  it  has  been  several  times  before. 

I  suppose  "Buck"  is  quite  delighted  that  her  intended  should  be 
in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  West. 

Every  one  out  here,  although  entertaining  a  very  high  opinion 
of  General  Hood,  blame  the  President  very  much  for  relieving 
General  Johnson,  as  he  is  no  doubt  one  of  our  best  generals,  and, 
perhaps,  with  the  exception  of  General  Lee,  the  very  best. 

I  know  from  pretty  good  authority  that  General  Johnston  had 
not  in  his  army  more  than  50,000  (fifty  thousand)  muskets  when 
Sherman's  force  numbered  120,000  (one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand).  I  am  afraid  the  result  will  be  that  General  Hood, 
urged  on  by  ambition  and  pressure  from  the  war  department,  will 
risk  a  battle  and  have  his  army  defeated,  which  would  be  a  serious 
thing  for  Georgia  and  the  upper  portion  of  South  Carolina.  It  is 


292  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

rumored  and  believed  that  General  Johnston  was  relieved  from 
command  because  he  refused  to  risk  a  general  engagement,  and, 
I  am  told,  many  of  the  generals  side  with  Genefal  Johnston. 

We  have  been  very  fortunate  everywhere  in  the  Confederacy 
since  the  spring  campaign  commenced,  except  in  the  West,  and  I 
must  say  I  am  now  a  little  fearful  of  the  results.  However,  I 
hope  when  General  Kirby  Smith  joins  General  Hood  we  may  be 
more  successful. 

The  Yankee  cavalry  are  pretty  well  used  up  out  here,  and  until 
they  recruit  and  get  new  horses  I  think  we  will  have  an  easy  time ; 
that  is,  in  comparison  to  what  we  have  had.  General  Sheridan  is 
now  at  City  Point,  and  has  most  of  his  cavalry  there  with  him. 
General  Wilson  is  opposite  us  with  a  small  force.  Our  horses  are 
improving  very  fast,  and  the  men,  who  were  almost  worn  out, 
have  also  been  greatly  benefited  by  the  rest.  I  will  send  home  in 
a  few  days  about  twelve  men  after  horses  to  replace  those  lost  in 
action.  The  next  fight  I  get  in  I  intend  to  capture  a  mule  and 
make  a  pack  out  of  him,  which  will  be  a  great  convenience,  for 
our  wagons  are  very  seldom,  or  never,  with  us,  and  where  there  are 
only  two  allowed  to  a  regiment  we  can  have  nothing  hauled.  I 
have  not  had  as  much  as  a  towel  in  the  wagon  since  I  have  been 
in  Virginia. 

You  must  write  to  Ben ;  he  is  almost  crazy  to  hear  from  some 
one  at  home.  He  has  not  received  one  line  from  grandfather, 
Aunt  'Lizzie,  or  Floride  since  he  came  to  Virginia,  and  he  really 
does  deserve  credit  for  the  manner  in  which  he  has  acted  since  he 
has  been  out  here.  He  is  now  with  General  Butler,  doing  some 
writing  for  him  and  acting  as  courier. 

I  stayed  all  night  at  Dr.  Boisseau's  in  coming  across  the  country 
from  the  hospital  to  camp,  who  was  a  classmate,  and  is  a  great 
friend  of  Dr.  Browder,  our  old  family  physician  in  Alabama,  and 
found  that  Dr.  Browder's  family  lived  on  the  adjoining  place. 
The  doctor  has  just  returned  to  Alabama,  having  been  out  here  on 
a  visit. 

Write  to  me  often.     Love  to  all. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

(Sd)     JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 
To  Miss  M.  M.  Calhoun. 

Tell  father  I  will  send  him  a  "17"  seven  teen-shooter  captured 
from  the  Yankees,  by  the  first  opportunity.  J.  C.  C. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  293 

Camp  Near  Malone's  Crossing, 

July,  30th,  1864. 

My  Dear  Sister:  I  received  your  letter  yesterday,  which  was 
not  dated.  I  noticed,  however,  that  it  was  mailed  on  the  21st. 

As  I  know  how  eager  you  all  must  be  for  news  concerning  the 
regiment,  I  will  proceed  at  once  to  give  you  an  account  of  its 
movements  for  the  last  two  days. 

Evening  before  last  General  Butler  sent  around  an  order  stating 
that  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  regiments  would  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  to  march  yesterday  morning  at  one  o'clock,  which  order 
was  obeyed,  and  the  two  regiments  started  off,  taking  with  them 
all  the  wagons  of  the  brigade.  Every  one  all  this  time  was  quite 
curious  to  know  where  they  were  to  go,  and  what  was  going  to 
transpire.  In  a  short  time  it  was  found  out  that  Major  Melton, 
brigade  quartermaster,  had  bought  from  a  gentleman  in  the 
enemy's  lines  45,000  pounds  of  oats,  and  fodder,  and  fifty  beef 
cattle,  which  it  was  intended  the  command  should  bring  off.  The 
whole  affair  proved  an  entire  success,  as  the  command,  after  going 
four  miles  into  the  enemy's  lines,  brought  off  everything  without 
firing  a  gun. 

When  on  the  return  to  camp,  and  when  every  one  thought  all 
was  quiet,  a  courier  came  dashing  up  with  orders  for  the  Fourth 
and  Fifth  to  go  to  the  relief  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  which  was  on 
picket  at  a  place  called  Lee's  Mills,  as  the  enemy  had  in  force 
attacked;  the  courier  also  reported  that  two  squadrons  of  the 
Sixth  had  been  captured.  The  Fourth  and  Fifth,  of  course, 
started  at  full  speed  for  Lee's  Mills,  the  Fourth  in  front,  and  my 
squadron  in  front  of  the  regiment.  After  going  a  short  distance, 
much  to  the  surprise  of  all,  the  advanced  guard  commenced  a 
tremendous  firing  of  small  arms,  and  the  order  was  at  once  given 
to  dismount  to  fight.  In  a  few  minutes  the  firing  became  general, 
and  in  a  short  time  the  Yankees  were  in  full  retreat.  It  seems 
that  this  force  of  the  enemy  was  a  heavy  reconnoitering  party, 
which  accounts  for  no  one  knowing  that  they  were  there.  My 
squadron  was  the  only  one  that  suffered  any  loss.  I  had  in  my 
company  one  man  (W.  H.  McDonald)  severely  wounded  in  the 
leg,  and  one  horse  killed;  in  my  junior  company  Lieutenant 
Weatherby  seriously  wounded,  one  man  killed,  and  two  wounded. 
Our  two  regiments,  after  driving  the  enemy  some  distance,  heard 


294  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

that  the  Yankees  had  also  fallen  back  from  Lee's  Mills,  conse 
quently  they  returned  to  camp. 

The  Sixth  regiment  was  driven  back  some  ^distance  and  lost 
heavily  in  officers  and  men.  The  report  of  the  two  squadrons 
being  captured  has  not  yet  been  denied,  but  I  think  it  must  be  a 
mistake.  Hampton's  Division  is  the  only  cavalry  on  this  side  of 
the  James  Kiver,  all  the  rest  crossed  to  the  north  side  four  days 
ago. 

The  cannonading  at  Petersburg  yesterday  morning  was  the 
most  severe  I  ever  heard ;  it  far  exceeded  anything  I  ever  heard  at 
Charleston.  The  enemy  undermined  Captain  Pegram's  battery, 
the  works  where  two  of  our  South  Carolina  companies  were 
stationed — which  two  I  do  not  know — and  blew  up  the  whole 
concern,  amounting  to  about  two  hundred  feet,  of  ground.  Poor 
General  Stephen  Elliott  is  mortally  wounded,  and  Colonel  Flem 
ing,  of  the  Twenty-second  regiment,  is  killed.  We  drove  the 
enemy  back  some  distance,  and  captured  a  number  of  prisoners. 

Wilson  has  recovered  and  returned  to  camp  from  the  Huguenot 
hospital,  where  I  left  him.  He  is  a  little  thin,  but  is  quite  well. 

Tell  father  I  sent  a  list  of  the  casualties  of  my  company  to  the 
Keowee  Courier,  and  as  I  did  not  know  how  much  money  to  send. 
I  wrote  to  the  editor  to  send  the  bill  to  him,  and  will  be  much 
obliged  if  he  will  settle  it  for  me. 

Tell  mother  please  to  make  me  two  more  shirts  out  of  some 
thin  and  strong  cloth,  as  the  two  she  made  out  of  the  yellow  cloth 
are  almost  gone.  She  will  have  a  good  opportunity  of  sending 
them  to  me  by  my  men,  who  are  going  home  after  horses.  "Don 
and  Sheriff"  are  not  looking  so  well  for  the  last  three  or  four 
days,  as  they  have  been  getting  but  little  to  eat. 

Love  to  all. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

(Sd.)     JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 
To  Miss  M.  M.  Calhoun. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  295 


EXTRACTS  TAKEN  FROM  "THE  CONFEDERATE 
SOLDIER"  IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR,  1861-1865 

[Greater  New  York  Edition.] 

Among  the  most  highly  distinguished  of  the  Colonial  American 
surnames  is  that  of  Calhoun.  Not  only  have  members  of  this 
family  attained  the  highest  rank  in  social  and  political  life,  but 
they  have  conspicuously  distinguished  themselves  in  the  various 
wars  in  which  the  soil  now  comprising  the  United  States  has  been 
involved.  The  name,  which  was  formerly  Colquhoun,  is  derived 
from  the  nobility  of  Great  Britain  and  is  traced  back  to  about 
the  time  of  Gregory  the  Great. 

The  first  of  the  name  in  America  was  James  Calhoun,  of  Don 
egal,  son  of  Patrick  Calhoun  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  the 
American  colonies  in  1733.  James  at  this  time  had  a  son  Patrick 
who  was  six  years  old,  and  who,  in  the  course  of  events,  became 
the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  John  C.  Calhoun.  The 
family  first  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  and  later  in  Virginia,  but 
after  Braddock's  defeat  removed  to  Abbeville  County,  South 
Carolina.  This  occurred  in  1756,  and  the  place  became  known  as 
"Calhoun's  Settlement."  A  little  later  war  with  the  Cherokees 
resulted  in  the  butchery  of  several  members  of  the  family,  among 
whom  were  James,  brother  of  Patrick,  several  girls  and  the  aged 
mother.  Patrick  distinguished  himself  in  this  war  against  the 
Indians,  securing  peace  through  his  efforts  and  winning,  through 
his  activity  and  gallantry,  the  appointment  to  the  command  of  a 
body  of  rangers  raised  to  protect  the  frontier. 

In  1770  Patrick  Calhoun  married  Martha  Caldwell,  daughter 
of  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  who  later  became  prominent  in  the  Con 
tinental  Army.  Three  of  the  sons  of  this  union  were  John  C., 
William  F.,  and  Thomas.  During  the  Revolution  Patrick  Cal 
houn  commanded  a  regiment  of  South  Carolina  rangers,  and  his 
wife  had  three  brothers  in  the  Colonial  service,  one  of  whom  was 
shot  dead  in  his  own  doorway  for  his  outspoken  sentiments  in 
favor  of  the  colonies,  another  died  of  over  thirty  sabre  wounds 
received  in  the  Battle  of  Cowpens,  and  the  third  was  captured  in 
a  battle  and  confined  for  nine  months  in  a  dungeon  at  St.  Augus- 


296  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

tine.  The  ancestor  of  these  three  patriots  was  John  Caldwell,  who 
came  to  this  country  in  1727,  and  a  relative  was  Admiral  Sir  Ben 
jamin  Caldwell,  of  the  English  navy.  •  ' 

John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  the  great  American  statesman,  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Colonel  Patrick  and  Martha  (Caldwell)  Calhoun, 
and  his  distinguished  career  is  too  well  known  to  require  mention 
here.  He  married  his  cousin  Floride,  daughter  of  John  Ewing 
Calhoun,  who  was  the  first  United  States  senator  from  the 
up-country  of  South  Carolina.  Their  son,  Andrew  Pickens  Cal 
houn,  was  born  in  1812  in  South  Carolina,  and  married  Margaret 
Maria,  daughter  of  Duff  Green.  He  resided  in  Alabama  on  a 
large  plantation  for  many  years,  and  died  in  South  Carolina  in 
1865.  He  was  incapacitated  from  service  during  the  Civil  War, 
but  greatly  aided  the  South  in  many  ways.  He  was  a  distin 
guished  and  typical  Southern  gentleman,  always  declining 
political  position,  devoting  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
was  for  many  years  president  of  the  South  Carolina  State  Agri 
cultural  Society.  The  Duffs  and  Greens  numbered  among  their 
members  some  of  the  most  distinguished  soldiers  and  civilians 
this  country  has  produced,  and  were  related  by  ties  of  blood  or  by 
marriage  to  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  George  Washington  and  other 
eminent  Americans. 

Colonel  John  Caldwell  Calhoun,  son  of  Andrew  Pickens  Cal 
houn,  was  born  in  Alabama,  July  9th,  1843,  and  was  reared  at  Fort 
Hill,  the  old  family  homestead  in  South  Carolina.  At  the  time  of 
the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  he  was  a  member  of  the  sopho 
more  class  at  the  South  Carolina  College.  He  witnessed  that  his 
toric  event,  and  it  made  a  powerful  impression  on  his  mind,  and 
stimulated  his  patriotism  and  loyalty  to  the  South  into  immediate 
action.  He  became  a  leader  in  the  organization  of  a  volunteer 
company  of  his  fellow  students,  and  a  little  later  joined  the 
cavalry  company  of  Captain  Thomas  Taylor  in  Hampton's 
Legion,  which  was  assigned  for  active  duty  with  the  Army  of 
Virginia,  and  served  for  about  a  year  in  the  dangerous  position 
of  color  sergeant.  He  was  then  mustered  out  of  service  on  account 
of  his  youth,  saying  nothing  of  his  intentions  at  the  time  and 
returned  to  his  home,  Fort  Hill,  in  Pickens  County,  South  Caro 
lina.  A  few  days  later,  at  a  great  war  meeting  at  a  muster  ground 
in  the  neighborhood,  he  suddenly  took  the  stump  in  sheer  despera- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  297 

tion  in  opposition  to  the  regularly  announced  speakers  of  the  occa 
sion,  and  with  telling  illustration  of  his  experiences  in  Virginia, 
of  the  need  of  troops  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  North,  and 
with  an  eloquent  and  brilliant  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  his 
hearers,  transformed  the  meeting  from  a  humdrum  affair  into  one 
of  loyalty,  enthusiasm  and  enlistment,  securing  a  large  number  of 
volunteers.  His  speech  was  made  from  the  top  of  a  rail  fence, 
and  around  him  the  crowd  assembled  with  shouts  of  approval, 
leaving  the  other  speakers  well-nigh  deserted.  At  the  conclusion 
of  his  impassioned  speech,  he  cried  out,  "All  who  will  go  back 
with  me  to  Virginia  fall  in,"  and  a  complete  company  was  soon 
enrolled.  Later  it  was  fully  equipped  for  the  cavalry  service  and 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men.  Within  a  month  from 
the  time  he  was  mustered  out  of  service  in  Virginia  he  was  back 
in  service,  at  the  head  of  a  superb  cavalry  company,  and  at  this 
time  was,  no  doubt,  the  youngest  captain  in  the  service  on  either 
side.  His  company  was  merged  into  "The  Adams  Battalion," 
commanded  by  Major  James  P.  Adams,  and  was  ordered  to  Poco- 
taligo  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  w^here  the  famous  battle  of 
Pocotaligo  was  fought.  He  was  placed  in  command  of  the  out 
posts  between  the  Cumbee  and  Savannah  rivers,  and  conducted 
the  flags  of  truce  between  the  departments  of  General  G.  T.  Beau- 
regard  on  the  Confederate  and  General  Saxton  on  the  Federal 
sides.  After  about  a  year  the  Adams  Battalion  was  merged  into 
the  Fourth  Regiment,  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  Colonel  B.  H. 
Rutledge,  which,  with  the  Fourth  Regiment,  was  ordered  on  to 
Virginia  to  relieve  the  First  and  Second  Regiments  and  was 
placed  in  the  brigade  of  General  M.  C.  Butler,  Hampton  Division. 
After  the  promotion  of  General  M.  C.  Butler  to  the  position  of 
major-general,  General  Dunovant,  of  South  Carolina,  was  placed 
in  command  of  this  brigade.  Colonel  Calhoun  gallantly  per 
formed  every  duty  incumbent  upon  him,  and  made  his  mark  as  an 
able,  skillful  and  gallant  commander.  At  the  battle  of  Trevillian 
Station,  one  of  the  greatest  cavalry  fights  of  the  war,  he  so  dis 
tinguished  himself  by  a  brilliant  charge  on  the  Federal  brigade 
under  General  Custer,  that  a  special  account  was  given  of  it  on 
August  2,  1864,  in  the  Daily  Southern  Guardian,  published  at 
Columbia,  S.  C.,  the  leading  newspaper  in  the  State;  and  long 
after  the  war  his  gallantry  was  specially  mentioned  by  General 


298  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

M.  C.  Butler  in  an  article  contributed  to  the  Century  Magazine. 
He  participated  in  several  other  skirmishes,  battles,  campaigns 
and  marches,  and  was  finally  mustered  out  afr  the  close  of  the 
war.  When  he  entered  the  service  he  was  under  eighteen  years 
of  age,  and  was  but  eighteen  when  he  took  the  field  with  a  large 
company  of  older  men ;  but  he  had  the  personality,  the  ability  and 
prestige  of  a  great  family  renown  to  insure  his  brilliant  success 
at  the  front. 

Immediately  after  the  war,  and  on  his  return  home,  he  made 
a  speech,  taking  the  position  that  the  questions  that  had  brought 
on  the  war  had  been  settled  by  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword,  and 
advised  every  one  to  go  to  work  quietly  and  rebuild  his  own  for 
tune  and  restore  the  country  to  prosperity. 

Since  the  war  he  has  been  active  in  cotton  planting,  railroads 
and  other  business,  and  has  contributed  largely  towards  the  great 
development  of  the  South. 

On  December  8th,  1870,  he  married  Linnie  Adams,  a  grand- 
niece  of  Richard  M.  Johnson,  vice-president,  and  they  have  four 
children:  James  Edward,  born  May  1st,  1878;  David  Adams, 
born  January  14th,  1881;  Julia  Johnson,  born  January  14th, 
1884;  John  C.,  Jr.,  born  April  22nd,  1887. 

James  Edward  Calhoun,  the  eldest  son,  was  commissioned  by 
President  McKinley  on  the  19th  of  May,  1898,  a  commissary  of 
subsistence  of  volunteers  with  the  rank  of  captain.  He  was 
immediately  assigned  by  special  order  of  the  secretary  of  war  to 
the  staff  of  Major-General  M.  C.  Butler  as  his  aide-de-camp, 
thus  serving  in  the  Spanish  war  with  the  same  general  with  whom 
his  father  had  served  in  the  Confederate  war  thirty-five  years 
before.  He  won  for  himself  a  reputation  for  great  efficiency 
and  energy,  was  stationed  at  Camp  Alger,  near  Washington, 
Camp  Meade  in  Pennsylvania,  and  when  General  Butler  was  sent 
to  Cuba  as  one  of  the  Evacuation  Commission,  Captain  Calhoun 
went  with  him,  and  was  thrown  in  close  contact  with  General 
Blanco  and  other  distinguished  officers.  He  hauled  down  the 
Spanish  flag  at  Trinidad  in  Cuba  and  hoisted  the  American. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  the  Calhouns  have  taken  a  prominent  part 
in  every  war,  including  the  Revolution,  down  to  the  present  time. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  299 


MICHAEL  CALVIN  DICKSON 

New  York,  December  8th,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

My  Dear  Colonel  Brooks :  In  justice  to  the  memory  of  a  gallant 
officer  and  soldier,  I  am  sure  you  will  agree  that  special  mention 
should  be  made  in  your  book  "Butler  and  His  Cavalry,7'  of  one 
who  served  in  General  Butler's  command  with  honor  to  himself 
and  his  country. 

Michael  Calvin  Dickson  was  born  at  Pendleton,  S.  C.,  on 
January  27th,  1841 ;  his  father  was  Thomas  Dickson,  of  Abbeville 
County,  and  his  mother  a  daughter  of  General  Scott  of  Revolu 
tionary  fame.  He  was  prepared  for  and  ready  to  enter  Davidson 
College  when  the  war  came  on. 

Inspired  by  patriotic  feelings  and  a  desire  to  serve  his  country, 
he  abandoned  the  idea  of  going  to  college,  joined  the  Fourth 
South  Carolina  Regiment  and  served  with  it  for  the  first  twelve 
months  of  the  war.  He  then  joined  my  company,  "B,"  Second 
Battalion  Cavalry,  South  Carolina  Volunteers,  commanded  by 
Major  James  P.  Adams,  stationed  at  Pocotaligo.  The  Second 
Battalion  of  Cavalry  was  afterwards  merged  into  the  Fourth 
Regiment,  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  Colonel  B.  H.  Rutledge  com 
manding,  in  which  my  command  became  Company  C. 

Mr.  Dickson  had  not  been  with  us  but  a  short  time  before  he  won 
my  own  -confidence,  as  his  captain,  as  well  as  that  of  the  other 
officers  and  members  of  the  company,  by  his  military  bearing, 
strict  attention  to  duties,  and  prompt  execution  of  all  orders,  so 
much  so,  that  when  a  vacancy  occurred  by  the  resignation  of 
Lieutenant  Aaron  Boggs  he  was  unanimously  made  junior  second 
lieutenant  of  the  company,  which  met  with  my  unqualified 
approval. 

The  Fourth  and  Fifth  Regiments,  South  Carolina  Cavalry, 
remained  on  duty  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  until  April, 
1864,  when  they  were  ordered  to  Virginia  to  relieve  the  First  and 
Second  Regiments,  and,  after  marching  all  the  way,  arrived  at 
Amelia  Court  House  on  May  22nd,  1864.  On  May  28th,  the 


300  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

entire  command  was  engaged  in  the  fight  at  Hawes'  Shop,  and 
my  company  sustained  serious  loss. 

First  Lieutenant  Thomas  D.  Bellotte  was -killed;  Privates 
J.  D.  Bellote,  A.  Day  and  N.  Day  were  killed ;  Second  Lieutenant 
Wm.  F.  M.  Fant,  Corporal  Eli  Moore,  Privates  S.  A.  Bellotte, 
A.  Collins,  John  F.  Day,  C.  M.  Fant,  John  Henderson,  W.  C. 
Kirksey,  William  Lee,  W.  H.  McDonald  were  wounded,  and 
Private  C.  Smith  was  captured. 

This  was  our  first  serious  fight  after  arriving  in  Virginia,  and 
in  it  Lieutenant  Dickson  won  the  admiration  and  confidence  of 
officers  and  men  by  his  marked  coolness  and  bravery.  In  the 
fights  at  Burgesse's  Mill,  Trevillians,  Malone's  Farm,  Bottom's 
Bridge,  Reams'  Station,  Petersburg  and  numerous  other  engage 
ments,  Lieutenant  Dickson  was  always  at  the  front,  cool  and 
collected,  which  inspired  all  those  who  were  with  him  or  under 
his  command  with  confidence  as  a  leader.  Lieutenant  Bellotte 
having  been  killed  and  Lieutenant  Fant  wounded  at  Hawes' 
Shop,  the  command  of  my  company  during  my  absence  from  sick 
ness  devolved  upon  Lieutenant  Dickson.  He  was  always  on  hand 
and  did  not  miss  a  single  battle  or  fight  in  which  the  company 
was  engaged,  until  after  the  battle  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C.,  just 
about  the  close  of  the  war,  where  he  received  seven  sabre  cuts, 
and  being  wounded  in  the  side  and  hip,  was  dragged  from  his 
horse  and  left  unconscious  on  the  field. 

After  the  war  he  returned  to  Pendleton  and  engaged  in  mer 
chandising  for  a  number  of  years,  and  then  turned  to  farming 
and  owned  several  fine  plantations. 

He  married  Miss  Addie  A.  Gilkerson,  of  Laurens  County,  and 
had  four  children — one  daughter,  Mrs.  A.  Rufus  Burress,  of 
Anderson,  and  three  sons,  T.  Paul  Dickson,  of  the  Anderson  bar, 
M.  C.  Dickson,  of  Charlotte,  N.  C.,  and  John  Calhoun  Dickson,  of 
Pendleton. 

He  was  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  Pendleton  A.  F.  M. 
Lodge  and  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  charitable,  a  good 
citizen,  and  respected  as  a  high-toned,  honorable  gentleman, 
having  many  warm  friends.  After  a  brief  illness  he  died  at  his 
home  in  Pendleton  on  July  19th,  1906,  and  was  buried  with 
Masonic  honors  in  the  Pendleton  cemetery. 

Very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  301 


BATTLE  OF  LEE'S  MILL,  VA.,  JULY  30,  1864 
BY  KEV.  W.  H.  BOWLING. 

After  the  battle  of  Trevillian,  June  llth  and  12th,  1864,  nearly 
sixteen  hundred  of  Butler's  Brigade  were  dismounted  in  conse 
quence  of  dead  and  disabled  horses.  Some  of  these  were  tem 
porarily  organized  into  a  dismounted  battalion.  Lieutenant 
Robert  Aldrich,  nuw  a  circuit  judge,  was  placed  in  command  of 
same,  and  sergeants  acted  as  captains.  My  company  was  stationed 
at  Blanchard  Breast  Works,  near  Lee's  Mill,  about  seven  miles 
southeast  from  Petersburg. 

July  30th,  1864,  was  an  eventful  day;  Grant's  Great  Crater 
explosion  aroused  the  whole  army  just  before  the  dawn.  Gen 
eral  M.  C.  Butler  had  planned  for  a  foraging  expedition  on  the 
left  of  and  around  Grant's  line.  He  sent  seven  companies  of  the 
Sixth  Regiment  and  my  dismounted  company  to  guard  the 
crossing  at  Lee's  Mill,  while  he,  with  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  regi 
ments,  protected  his  wagon  train  several  miles  away.  Simul 
taneously  General  Gregg  had  planned  to  make  a  raid  to  Weldon, 
N.  C.,  and  extend  the  same  for  purposes  of  harassment  in  the 
rear  of  Lee's  army,  and  was  to  cross  the  swamp  at  Lee's  Mill, 
which  was  unguarded  the  day  before,  but  by  ten  o'clock  Colonel 
Miller's  eight  companies  were  on  the  ground.  The  mill  dam  had 
been  cut  and  fish  in  great  abundance  were  fluttering  in  the  pond. 
While  bivouacking  we  broiled  some  of  these  on  ramrods  in  pine 
top  fires;  feasted  without  bread  or  salt,  filled  our  canteens  and 
were  ready  for  the  fray.  About  12 :30  o'clock  the  firing  of  pickets 
told  us  "The  Yankees  are  coming."  Quickly  we  were  in  line — 
about  four  hundred  men — my  company  forming,  by  Miller's 
order,  on  the  extreme  right  on  the  mill  race  and  run  of  the  swamp. 
Gregg's  whole  division  was  in  front  of  us,  but  realizing  the 
importance  and  responsibility  of  the  position,  we  were  determined 
to  hold  the  place  at  all  hazards,  and  we  resisted  the  severe  attack 
as  Spartans  at  Thermopylae  pass.  The  battle  raged  nearly  two 
hours,  when  a  lull  occurred.  We  knew  that  strategy  was  taking 
place,  and  I  sent  the  brave  Pat  Jennings  and  another  vidette  to 
scout  to  our  right,  but  these  did  not  return.  The  enemy  had  com- 


302  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

pletely  flanked  us  and  were  firing  upon  us  from  the  front,  right 
and  rear.  We  fell  back  to  the  edge  of  the  old  field,  firing  rapidly 
on  all  sides.  The  situation  seemed  desperate,  tout  we  stood  like 
the  "Stonewall  brigade."  The  blue  columns  were  moving  to  close 
around  us,  our  men  were  falling  thick  and  fast  by  the  enemy's 
bullets,  but  we  never  thought  of  surrendering.  Miller  ordered 
"retreat,"  a  desperate  effort  was  made  to  obey  through  the  only 
open  gap,  which  escape  would  have  been  impossible,  but  just 
then  a  cyclone  of  musketry  struck  the  flanking  enemy  and 
stopped  their  "wild  career."  General  Butler  had  arrived  with  his 
brigade,  first  made  a  mounted  charge,  then  dismounted,  saved  the 
day,  held  the  ground,  and  Miller's  party  got  out  all  right. 

Next  morning  Gregg  was  gone,  leaving  only  a  "wreck  behind" 
— a  similar  experience  to  that  which  Hampton  had  given  him  at 
Trevillian  a  few  weeks  before. 

A  Northern  history,  referring  to  this  battle,  says:  "General 
Gregg  had  started  to  Weldon,  N.  C.,  but  finding  Butler's  cavalry 
at  Lee's  Mill,  he  drove  them  off,  watered  his  horses  and  decided  to 
go  back." 

The  facts  are  that  he  may  have  watered  his  horses,  but  we  are 
sure — Butler  made  him  go  back. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  303 


BATTLE  OF  REAMS  STATION 

In  August,  1864,  Butler's  Cavalry  was  in  camp  on  the  Squirrel 
Level  Road  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  south  of  Petersburg,  Va. 
While  we  couriers  were  not  taken  into  the  confidence  of  the  com 
manding  officers,  we  could  generally  know  from  the  dispatches 
sent  and  received  at  a  gallop  when  anything  stirring  was  ahead. 

Information  had  been  brought  in  from  the 'outposts  and  scouts 
during  the  day  of  the  24th  of  August  that  the  Yankee  General 
Hancock  was  moving  against  Reams  Station,  on  the  Petersburg 
and  Weldon  railroad,  eight  miles  from  Petersburg,  with  his  entire 
command,  the  Second  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  On 
the  evening  of  the  24th  of  August  Generals  A.  P.  Hill,  Hampton 
and  Butler  had  a  sort  of  council  of  war  about  sunset  below  and 
to  the  right  of  Reams  Station.  Bear  in  mind  that  Reams  Station 
was  on  the  Petersburg  and  Weldon  railroad,  one  of  the  two  points 
General  Lee  had  to  supply  his  army,  and  the  importance  of 
protecting  it  will  be  realized.  Well,  the  result  of  the  conference 
between  the  three  general  officers  above  mentioned  was  that  A.  P. 
Hill's  corps  of  infantry  with  the  cavalry  under  Hampton  were  to 
be  in  front  of  Reams  Station  at  daylight  next  morning,  the  25th. 
These  secrets  generally  leaked  out  and  our  camp  that  night  was 
alive  with  preparation  for  something  lively  in  the  near  future. 
Rations  and  ammunition  were  prepared  and  issued  and  "boots  and 
saddle"  was  sounded  about  midnight,  we  were  all  up  and  pre 
pared  for  action.  After  mounting  and  breaking  into  column, 
we  moved  rapidly  to  Reams  Station,  reaching  there  soon  after 
daylight.  Dunovant's  brigade  was  sent  to  the  right  to  provide 
against  attack  from  that  direction.  We  were  placed  in  positions 
ready  to  attack.  Hill's  corps  did  not  get  up  until  about  seven 
a.  m.,  and  there  we  were,  the  cavalry  with  three  batteries  of  horse 
artillery,  waiting  for  the  infantry. 

I  can  never  forget  that  Generals  Hampton,  Butler  and  Rosser 
were  sitting  in  the  yard  of  a  farmhouse  near  the  railroad  about 
two  miles  south  of  Reams  Station  waiting  for  a  signal  to  attack. 
About  8  a.  m.  a  courier  brought  word  from  General  A.  P.  Hill 
that  the  signal  for  attack  would  be  two  shots  from  Pelham's 


304  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

battery.  We  were  all  lolling  about,  officers,  staff  and  couriers, 
in  the  farmhouse  yard,  and  when  the  signal  shots  were  fired  it  was 
a  matter  of  a  few  minutes  when  we  were  up  and  at  them.  It  was 
not  long  before  Hill  and  Hancock  had  each  other  by  the  ears, 
each  worthy  of  the  other's  steel.  The  cavalry  moved  up,  dis 
mounted  and  took  a  lively  part  on  Hill's  right.  When  the  combat 
waxed  fierce  and  fast  and  it  was  developed  that  Hill  could  hold 
his  own  in  front,  Butler  with  his  dismounted  cavalry  was  ordered 
across  the  railroad  so  as  to  strike,  if  possible  Hancock's  left  and 
rear.  We  moved  rkpidly  through  a  thick  piece  of  woods,  which 
protected  the  movement  from  Hancock's  people,  and  suddenly 
debouched  in  an  open  field.  The  Yankees  had  not  completed 
some  breastworks  they  were  making  of  pine  logs,  sorghum  cane 
and  dirt,  so  that  when  Butler  appeared  unheralded  in  the  open 
field  about  two  hundred  yards  in  their  left  rear  and  discharged  a 
volley  followed  by  a  rush  for  their  friends,  the  Yankees,  they 
fired  a  fierce  volley  and  broke  away  from  their  incomplete  works 
and  stood  not  upon  the  order  of  their  going.  The  infantry  in  the 
meantime  at  and  around  the  railroad  station  were  trying  conclu 
sions  fiercely  and  stubbornly.  This  rear  and  left  stroke  of  But 
ler's  cavalry  late  in  the  afternoon  was  the  final  blow  which  caused 
Hancock  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  and  return  to  Grant's  main  lines. 
Detaching  Butler  for  the  movement  across  the  railroad,  thereby 
making  a  gap  in  our  line  in  front  of  Hancock,  was  a  bold  and 
somewhat  hazardous  thing  to  do,  but  the  presumption  is  Hill 
and  Hampton  decided  that  Butler  with  his  dismounted  cavalry 
was  the  man  to  succeed  in  so  daring  an  undertaking.  Butler  was 
to  Hampton  what  Stonewall  Jackson  was  to  General  Lee.  At 
any  rate,  it  turned  out  a  success  and  compelled  Hancock  to  with 
draw  as  rapidly  as  possible  and  leave  the  field  in  our  possession. 
After  a  struggle  lasting  twelve  hours  the  day  was  too  far  spent 
to  justify  pursuit,  but  the  next  day  we  explored  the  battlefield 
and  some  distance  on  the  line  of  Hancock's  retreat  the  thrown 
away  guns,  haversacks,  canteens,  hats  and  other  paraphernalia 
of  war  abandoned  on  the  retreat,  which  we  gathered  up  next  day, 
were  helpful  to  our  ordnance  and  quartermaster  supplies.  It 
should  be  stated  that  when  Butler  made  a  gap  in  our  lines  by  his 
flank  movement  to  the  right  his  place  was  occupied  by  the  three 
batteries  of  horse  artillery,  Hart's,  McGregor's  (Pelham's  old  bat- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  305 

tery)  and  Thompson's.  I  don't  suppose  there  were  ever  another 
such  a  set  of  daredevils  in  any  army  as  the  officers  and  men  of 
these  batteries.  They  always  accompanied  the  cavalry,  whatever 
the  distance  or  rapidity  of  the  march,  and  were  on  hand  wherever 
and  whenever  there  was  fighting  to  be  done.  That  day  General 
Butler  had  some  difficulty  in  restraining  McGregor,  who,  with  his 
guns,  was  stationed  on  Butler's  line.  McGregor  asked  permission 
to  gallop  up  right  in  front  of  the  Yankee  line  of  battle,  unlimber 
and  commence  firing.  Of  course  this  could  not  be  permitted.  If 
I  am  not  mistaken,  and  I  am  sure  I  am  not,  McGowan's  brigade, 
led  by  that  splendid  soldier  and  gentleman  General  Samuel 
McGowan,  was  a  part  of  Hill's  corps,  and  bore  a  conspicuous  part 
in  the  battle.  General  McGowan  was  himself  wounded — a  habit 
he  had,  as  he  did  not  seem  to  have  learned  the  art  of  dodging  the 
Yankee  bullets.  Taking  it  all  and  all  this  was  one  of  the  most 
important  engagements  of  that  eventful  year  1864. 

If  Hancock  had  affected  a  lodgment  and  fortified  at  Reams 
Station,  thereby  blocking  communication  by  the  Petersburg  and 
Weldon  railroad,  the  chances  are  that  General  Lee  would  have 
been  compelled  to  extend  his  already  thin  attenuated  lines  and 
possibly  abandon  his  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg. 

The  reader  can,  therefore,  readily  understand  the  importance 
of  the  victory  over  Hancock  and  of  holding  the  line  of  railroad 
at  Reams  Station.  Malone's  Crossing  a  few  miles  below,  where 
Butler's  cavalry  encamped  for  some  time  during  the  campaign  of 
1864,  in  fact  almost  the  entire  line  of  railroad  from  Petersburg 
to  within  twenty  miles  of  Weldon,  N.  C.,  were  scenes  of  hotly 
contested  conflicts. 

Extract  from  General  Hampton's  War  Record,  Report  of  the 
Reams  Station  fight: 

"I  cannot  close  my  report  without  expressing  my  high  appre 
ciation  of  the  conduct  of  my  command.  Officers  and  men  alike 
discharged  their  duties  to  my  entire  satisfaction.  General  Butler 
handled  his  division  skilfully,  and  he  was  ably  supported  by  Gen 
eral  Rosser  and  Colonel  Wright." 

The  total  capture  in  this  Reams  Station  fight,  of  our  combined 
cavalry  and  infantry,  amounted  to  2,150  prisoners,  seven  stand  of 
colors,  nine  pieces  of  artillery  and  3,150  small  arms  and  stores. 
As  Lieu  tenant- General  A.  P.  Hill  expressed  it  in  writing  of  the 

20— B.  C. 


306  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

engagement,  "The  sabre  and  the  bayonet  have  shaken  hands  on 
the  enemy's  captured  breastworks."  The  cavalry  captured  781 
prisoners  besides  66  badly  wounded,  and  burie*d  143  dead.  Our 
cavalry  losses  were  only  sixteen  killed  and  seventy-eight  wounded 
and  none  captured  by  the  Yanks. 

In  a  letter"  from  General  Lee  to  Governor  Vance  of  North  Caro 
lina,  he  said,  "The  operations  of  the  cavalry  were  not  less  dis 
tinguished  for  boldness  and  efficiency  than  those  of  the  infantry." 

It  was  General  Hancock  who  commanded  the  Yankees  this  day, 
and  the  mortification  felt  at  the  result  by  that  brave,  proud 
soldier  was  intense.  It  is  reported  by  his  friends  that  he  said  on 
the  field  he  would  rather  have  died  than  witnessed  his  corps  in 
such  a  rout. 

When  McGowan's  brigade  captured  some  Yankee  cannon  they 
did  not  know  how  to  use  the  guns  against  the  enemy.  A  captured 
Yankee  sergeant  said,  "If  you  boys  will  allow  me,  I  can  mow  those 
Yanks  down  while  they  are  running  up  the  hill."  Our  men  told 
him  all  right,  and  this  unnatural  soldier  turned  these  captured 
guns  upon  his  friends,  our  enemies,  and  played  havoc  with  them 
and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  sport  very  much.  Lieutenant  Henry 
Heise  helped  to  capture  the  guns  and  witnessed  the  Yankee  ser 
geant  shoot  down  his  comrades  just  for  pure  and  simple  cussed- 
ness.  Lieutenant  Heise  (now  of  Columbia,  S.  C.,)  will  make  an 
affidavit  as  to  the  truthfulness  of  this  story  if  any  one  doubts  it. 

Let  me  state  a  small  incident  that  occurred  while  we  were 
camped  at  Malone's  Crossing.  The  straits  to  which  we  were 
sometimes  reduced  in  the  matter  of  securing  supplies.  General 
Butler  had  been  notified  that  it  was  impossible  to  furnish  his 
command  with  soap.  He  thereupon  sent  round  to  the  different 
regiments  and  inquired  if  there  were  any  men  who  understood  the 
manufacture  of  soap.  To  the  surprise  of  all  of  us,  it  was  ascer 
tained  that  there  were  twenty-five  or  thirty  men  in  the  cavalry 
who  were  expert  soap  makers.  General  Butler  detailed  a  member 
of  his  staff,  Major  Emmet  Seibels,  and  ordered  the  soap  makers  to 
report  to  him.  Major  Seibels,  who,  of  course,  knew  nothing 
about  making  soap  himself,  put  the  men  to  work  with  as  much 
zeal  and  earnestness  as  if  leading  a  forlorn  hope  in  battle  (and  he 
could  do  that  as  gallantly  as  any  soldier)  and  in  a  short  time 
was  turning  out  150  pounds  of  soap  a  day.  This  was  the  process : 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  307 

We  were  encamped  in  a  grove  of  large  oak  and  hickory  trees. 
Major  Seibels  cut  down  the  trees  and  used  the  bark  for  making 
lye.  He  would  then  have  the  bacon  washed  and  used  the  grease 
with  the  lye  for  making  the  soap.  In  addition  to  the  bacon  grease 
he  would  send  out  and  gather  up  the  carcasses  of  dead  mules  and 
horses  not  too  much  decayed  on  the  battlefield  and  utilize  it  with 
the  bacon  grease.  It  was  a  novel  proceeding,  but  "necessity 
knows  no  law,"  as  Judge  Mackey  said  about  the  negro  Judge 
Wright.  He  said  Wright  was  like  necessity,  because  he  knew 
no  law. 

•We  soon  had  an  ample  supply  of  excellent  soap,  with  some  to 
spare  to  our  neighbors  the  infantry. 

It  has  been  forty-four  years  since  all  this  happened. 

"The  flood  of  time  is  setting 
And  we  stand  upon  the  brink." 


308  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


CAPTURE  OF  GENERAL  GRANTS  CATTLE 

Near  Coggins'  Point,  on  the  James  river,  less  than  five  miles 
east  of  City  Point  and  to  West-Over,  was  a  large  herd  of  cattle 
belonging  to  Grant's  army.  City  Point  is  about  fifty  miles  from 
Petersburg,  as  the  crow  flies.  General  Hampton's  trusted  scout, 
Shadbourne,  gave  him  this  information  on  the  5th  September, 
1864.  General  Hampton  said  to  Shadbourne:  "Tell  me  when 
Grant  will  visit  Washington  or  Sheridan  in  the  valley."  Within 
a  short  time  our  scouts  captured  a  courier  with  it  dispatch  that 
Grant  would,  on  the  morning  of  the  14th,  go  to  the  valley  to 
consult  with  Sheridan.  That  very  morning  General  Hampton 
left  for  the  vicinity  of  City  Point.  He  had  to  make  a  circuitous 
route  of  about  100  miles  and  reached  there  at  5  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  sixteenth,  and  within  three  hours  had  killed  and 
captured  nearly  all  of  the  First  District  of  Columbia  regiment 
of  cavalry,  and  the  cattle,  numbering  2,468,  and  many  horses  cap 
tured,  three  camps  were  burned  and  a  considerable  quantity  of 
valuable  stores  and  blankets  were  carried  off.  Rosser  made  this 
charge  and  capture  while  W.  H.  F.  Lee  and  Bearing  were  busily 
making  surprises  and  capturing  couriers,  &c.,  in  other  directions. 
While  General  Butler,  with  most  of  his  division,  was  driving 
in  Hancock's  pickets  every  morning  below  Burgess'  Mill,  our 
boys,  who  did  the  charging  of  the  pickets,  were  glad  to  welcome 
General  Hampton  back  with  the  cattle,  but  was  sorry  he  came  so 
soon,  because  they  missed,  their  coffee  and  hot  breakfast,  which 
had  been  prepared  for  them  by  the  Yankee  pickets.  Hancock 
and  Gregg  kept  their  men  in  line  of  battle  for  four  days,  looking 
every  moment  for  General  Butler  to  attack  them,  while  General 
Hampton  was  in  their  rear.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  behalf 
of  our  scouts.  Nearly  every  day  while  on  duty  a  good  scout 
carried  information  in  one  hand  and  his  life  in  the  other.  Here 
is  an  illustration :  During  the  cattle  raid  two  of  our  scouts,  whose 
names  will  be  given  at  another  time,  were  near  City  Point.  They 
were  dressed  in  blue  overcoats  and  trousers.  A  poor  woman  in 
this  vicinity  would  frequently  cook  for  them  and  also  impart 
valuable  information.  The  two  scouts  walked  quietly  into  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  309 

house  on  this  occasion,  and  much  to  their  surprise  there  sat  two 
men  clad  in  blue  uniforms  waiting  for  some  food  then  being  pre 
pared.  It  was  too  late  to  withdraw,  so  our  scouts  spoke  to  the 
strangers  in  a  friendly  way.  Are  they  Yankees  or  Confederates  ? 
They  were  thus  "thinking  hard,"  and  so  were  the  other  two  men. 
Our  scouts  knew  full  well  if  these  fellows  proved  to  be  Yankees 
they  must  kill  them  or  be  themselves  killed.  When  the  four  sat 
down  together,  two  and  two,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  table  to  eat, 
the  good  woman  walked  behind  the  Yankees  and  gave  a  quick, 
warning  glance  across  the  table  at  the  scouts,  and  the  flashes  of 
their  pistols  blackened  the  faces  of  the  two  Yankees  as  the 
bullets  crashed  through  their  heads.  They  had  to  drag  the  bodies 
out  behind  the  garden  and  hide  them  from  detection  to  keep  the 
good  woman  out  of  trouble.  Whenever  our  scouts  were  caught 
in  blue  clothes  it  simply  meant  death  and  no  matter  how  clad 
if  buckshot  were  found  on  them  it  meant  death  without  benefit 
of  clergy.  One  of  Butler's  scouts  by  the  name  of  Waterbury 
was  one  of  the  bravest  men  in  the  army.  While  on  a  scout  in  the 
rear  of  Grant's  army  in  December,  1864,  he  met  about  250  Yan 
kees  in  the  road  with  the  advance  guard  clad  in  gray  for  the  pur 
pose  of  deceiving  and  capturing  our  scouts.  Both  parties  fired 
upon  each  other  at  the  same  time.  Waterbury  and  his  four  men 
had  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat.  Waterbury's  horse  fell  and  he  was 
knocked  senseless,  and  when  he  regained  consciousness  he  saw  that 
he  was  surrounded  by  the  Yankee  cavalry,  who  conducted  him 
to  the  commanding  officer,  who  also  was  painfully  hurt  in  the 
encounter,  who  said  to  his  men,  pointing  to  Bill  Sanderson,  the 
chief  of  A.  P.  Hill's  scouts,  who  had  just  been  captured  in  a 
similar  way:  "Take  these  d — d  rascals  out  and  shoot  them." 
Waterbury  said :  "One  word  with  you,  Captain,  before  you  have 
that  order  carried  into  execution,"  and  at  the  same  time  gave  a 
Masonic  sign.  The  commander,  who  being  a  true  Mason,  said: 
"Men,  I  have  just  ordered  you  to  shoot  these  prisoners.  They 
are  Masons,  and  now  I  say  the  first  man  who  dares  to  shoot  one 
of  them,  I  will  shoot  him  at  once." 

The  two  scouts  were  taken  to  City  Point  and  put  in  the  pen, 
where  they  found  our  fellow  townsman  W.  W.  Miller,  Bill  Jack 
son  and  an  Irishman  by  the  name  of  Pat  Sanders,  and  a  good 
scout  he  was  too.  The  Federal  General  Davis,  whose  men  cap- 


310  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

tured  him,  said:  "How  many  men  has  General  Hampton  got  at 
Stoney  Creek?"  Pat  scratched  his  head  and  looked  at  the  well- 
groomed  Yankee  general,  and  said :  "Faith  and  Gen.  Hampton  has 
no  less  than  fifty  thousand  of  the  best  fighting  men  in  all  Amer 
ica."  The  general  looked  at  Pat  and  smiled,  and  said :  "Take  him 
to  the  rear."  After  Miller,  Jackson  and  Sanders  were  taken  to 
Point  Lookout,  Waterbun^  and  Sanderson  were  kept  at  City  Point. 
From  their  prison  cell  they  could  see  a  majestic  oak,  and  agreed 
to  meet  under  its  wide  branches  as  soon  as  they  could  cut  a 
hole  through  the  plank  floor  with  a  pen  knife;  and  finally,  on 
the  third  night,  Sanderson  slipped  through  first,  and  happened 
to  see  a  blue  coat  under  the  tree  and  flanked  the  wearer  thereof. 
But  Waterbury  took  the  blue  coat  for  Sanderson  and  ran  right 
into  the  arms  of  the  guard,  who  demanded  the  countersign. 
Waterbury  being  equal  to  the  occasion,  said  really  he  had  not 
thought  to  get  it,  that  he  had  just  hitched  his  horse  over  yonder. 
When  asked  what  command  he  belonged  to,  he  said  First  New 
Jersey  cavalry.  When  asked  the  name  of  his  captain,  he  said: 
"Why,  don't  you  know  Captain  Wilson?"  The  guard  said  you 
may  be  all  right,  but  I  will  send  you  to  the  reserve  picket  post, 
and  immediately  called  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  who  delivered 
him  up  to  the  officer  in  command,  who  immediately  started  him 
off  under  one  guard,  and  after  going  a  short  distance,  Water- 
bury  jumped  on  the  guard,  took  his  gun  from  him  and  made  him 
his  prisoner,  and  while  doing  his  best  to  get  into  our  lines,  day 
suddenly  dawned  upon  him.  Then  he  was  forced  to  remain  in 
a  secluded  spot  with  his  prisoner.  Having  lost  much  sleep,  this 
being  the  fourth  night,  nature  asserted  itself  and  as  soon  as  he 
sat  down  he  was  sound  asleep,  losing  sight  of  the  fact  that  the 
gun  was  back  into  the  hands  of  the  Yankee,  who  deliberately 
shot  him  through  the  left  lung.  Waterbury  said:  "You  d — d 
scoundrel,  I  could  have  shot  you  dead,  and  I  ought  to  have  done 
it,  and  you  coward,  you  killed  me  as  soon  as  I  fell  asleep."  The 
Yankee  sneaked  off,  thinking  he  had  accomplished  his  purpose. 
Waterbury  got  up  and  went  to  his  friend,  Dr.  Bryan,  who  lived 
very  near,  but  within  the  enemy's  lines,  and  as  soon  as  he  reached 
the  door  he  fainted.  Dr.  Bryan  did  all  in  his  power  to  alleviate 
his  pain,  but  soon  the  Yankees  were  there  and  paroled  him,  and 
within  a  few  days  took  him  to  City  Point,  putting  him  in  a  dun- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  311 

geon  until  he  could  be  sent  to  Point  Lookout.  In  1868  Wallace 
Miller  went  to  Baltimore  fojr  Sol.  Legare's  remains,  where  he 
saw  Waterbury  in  business. 

About  the  20th  of  August,  1864,  Federal  General  Gregg,  with 
his  division  and  Kautz's  brigade,  had  retired  to  near  City  Point 
in  order  to  make  us  believe  that  he  had  gone  to  the  valley,  but 
General  Butler  did  not  believe  it,  although  he  had  been  ordered 
to  the  valley  to  meet  Gregg.  General  Butler  sent  one  of  his 
most  trusted  scouts,  now  our  fellow-townsman,  Mr.  W.  W.  Miller, 
to  ascertain  the  exact  whereabouts  of  Gregg's  cominand  and  re 
port  to  him  at  once.  By  the  time  General  Butler  had  reached 
Hanover  Court  House,  Wallace  Miller  had  been  to  Dr.  Bryan's 
and  bribed  the  Yankee  guard  to  watch  out  for  him  until  he  could 
eat  supper.  But  there  was  no  time  to  eat.  Dr.  Bryan,  in  the  ab 
sence  of  the  guard,  told  this  gallant  scout  that  it  was  all  a  hoax 
about  Gregg  going  off,  that  he  wanted  to  get  Butler  out  of  his 
way  in  order  to  make  a  raid  on  the  Southside  railroad,  and  the 
veteran  scout  lost  no  time  in  getting  a  dispatch  to  General  Hamp 
ton  by  Bernard  King,  his  brother  scout,  who  was  before  the  war 
a  prominent  lawyer  in  the  city  of  Washington,  while  he,  Miller, 
caught  up  with  Butler  and  informed  him  of  the  true  state  of 
affairs.  General  Butler  at  once  hurried  back  to  resume  his  for 
mer  position  below  Petersburg.  On  the  23rd  of  August  he  met 
Gregg,  just  after  he  had  started,  and  after  a  severe  fight — the 
field  was  ours.  Gregg's  cavalry  charged  some  of  our  dismounted 
men  and  some  of  them  almost  surrounded  General  Butler,  but 
in  his  cool  way  of  doing  things,  he  said :  Some  of  you  boys  come 
here  and  run  these  fellows  off,  which  was  promptly  done.  Dur 
ing  the  hottest  part  of  this  fight  one  of  Butler's  colonels  rode  up 
to  him,  and  under  great  excitement,  said:  "General,  I  am 
flanked."  Butler  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  and  said :  "Go  and 
flank  them  back,  sir."  Too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  Wallace 
Miller  and  Bernard  King  for  checkmating  Gregg's  game. 

General  Butler  suggested  to  General  Hampton  that  if  he  could 
persuade  General  Lee  to  send  A.  P.  Hill's  corps  down  to  help 
us  out  that  we  could  take  Ream's  Station  from  Hancock  and 
Gregg.  So  on  the  25th  August,  Hill's  veterans  and  our  cavalry 
were  soon  fighting  side  by  side.  Then  it  was  that  General  Hill 
said:  "The  bayonet  and  the  sabre  shook  hands  on  the  enemy's 


312  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

captured  breast- works."  After  the  fight  was  over,  Hancock 
said  that  he  had  rather  been  killed  than  to  have  had  his  men 
routed  and  humiliated  as  they  were.  It  was  1n  this  fight  that 
General  Butler  won  his  spurs  as  major  general,  then  the  youngest 
major  general  in  either  army. 

THE    CATTLE    RAID,    16TH    SEPTEMBER,    1864. 

Mr.  E.  L.  Wells  says  the  information  about  the  herd  of  beeves 
upon  which  the  expedition  for  its  capture  was  arranged,  was 
obtained  from  Sergeant  Shadburne.  He  accompanied  Rosser's 
leading  regiment  as  guide  and  was  foremost  in  the  attack.  Ser 
geant  Hogan,  in  charge  of  Butler's  scouts,  was  also  with  the  ex 
pedition  and  did  excellent  service.  One  scout  (McCalla)  was 
killed  and  three  wounded  in  the  fighting.  The  scouts'  position 
required  not  only  coolness,  courage,  zeal  and  intelligence,  but 
special  faculties  born  in  some  few  men.  The  matter  of  Shadburne 
giving  the  information  about  the  cattle  is  admirable  for  the  pur 
pose  intended,  in  matter  and  manner,  and  runs  as  follows : 

"Near  Blackwater,  5  Sept.,  1864. 

"General:  I  have  just  returned  from  City  Point.  The  defenses 
are  as  follows:" 

Then  are  given  with  the  greatest  precision  the  points  at  which 
troops  are  stationed,  their  approximate  numbers,  where  supplies 
are  stored,  and  the  exact  distance  between  the  places  mentioned: 

"At  Coggins'  Point  are  3,000  beeves,  attended  by  120  men  and 
30  citizens  without  arms.  At  Sycamore  church  is  one  regiment 
of  cavalry  (First  District  of  Columbia).  This  is  the  nearest 
point  of  the  picket  line  to  Coggins'  Point  (about  two  miles). 
The  greatest  danger,  I  think,  would  be  on  the  Jerusalem  plank- 
road  in  returning.  The  Tenth  corps  is  on  the  right  (this  side  of 
Appomattox  river) ,  Ninth,  centre,  Fifth  next,  Second  on  extreme 
left.  I  hear  that  they  have  a  Fifteenth  corps,  commanded  by 
Ord.  From  best  information,  Birney  commands  Tenth  corps. 
The  Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth  corps  are  on  the  other  side  of  Ap 
pomattox.  Butler  has  just  returned  (yesterday)  from  conven- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  313 

tion.  (He  refers  to  Ben  Butler  coming  back  from  a  political 
gathering  at  the  North  anent  the  autumn  elections).  It  is 
thought  more  cavalry  is  about  returning.  Colonel  -  —  is  un 
der  arrest  for  drunkenness,  I  understand.  Stratton  in  command. 

"Your  obedient  scout, 

Shadburne." 

The  scouts  kept  Hampton  and  Butler  posted  as  to  any  move 
ment  of  the  Yankees,  as  well  as  their  cattle,  etc. 


314  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


WHAT  AN  ARTILLERY  MAN  SAW  AT  THE 
CATTLE  RAID 

After  that  fateful  day,  May  llth,  1864,  when  the  bullet  of  the 
enemy  took  from  the  cavalry  corps  its  greatest  commander, 
J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  at  Yellow  Tavern,  the  man  who  Longstreet  said 
was  the  greatest  cavalryman  America  ever  saw;  the  man  upon 
whom  Jackson  threw  his  mantle,  like  Elijah  of  old;  the  man  upon 
whom  General  Lee  depended  for  eyes  and  ears — General  Lee  did 
not  have  to  look  for  his  successor — no,  he  was  close  at  hand,  and 
had  carved  his  name  with  his  sabre  high  in  the  list  of  the  world's 
great  soldiers.  It  was  Wade  Hampton  upon  whom  the  mantle 
fell,  and  who  was  worthier?  We  have  heard  and  do  know  of  the 
achievements  of  this  command,  and  that  command,  from  the 
pens  of  officers  and  privates,  and  I  am  glad  it  is  so.  I  read  every 
thing  of  the  kind  I  come  across. 

I  have  read  of  Stuart's  great  ride  around  McClellan's  army  on 
the  Chickahominy,  and  it  was  a  wonderful  performance.  I  know 
it  is  considered  by  military  men  as  an  unique  feat.  I  wish  I  were 
able  to  describe  it.  I  recall  the  enthusiasm  it  created,  and  also 
remember  the  fate  of  the  gallant  Latane,  the  only  casualty. 

It  is  not  of  this  that  I  would  write.  I  was  not  with  the  boys 
then.  It  is  of  Hampton's  great  "cattle  raid"  in  September,  1864, 
that  I  propose  to  write  in  my  own  plain  way,  just  as  I  remember 
it,  and  just  as  I  read  of  it,  now  that  it  is  all  over. 

THE    MISE    EN    SCENE. 

In  the  early  fall  of  1864,  General  Lee's  army  was  facing  Gen 
eral  Grant  at  Petersburg,  and  his  infantry  lines  extended  from 
the  Appomattox  on  the  east  to  about  Dinwiddie  Court  House  on 
the  southwest.  South  of  this  the  cavalry  held  the  lines.  I  say 
held  them,  not  as  the  infantry  did,  but  patrolled  them  all  the  way 
down  to  Stoney  Creek  and  sometimes  beyond.  We  were  too  few 
to  man  the  lines,  so  we  rode  them,  one  night  here  and  tomorrow 
somewhere  else  on  the  line,  repelling  from  time  to  time  by  the 
hardest  kind  of  fighting  the  repeated  attacks  made  upon  the 
lines  of  communication,  i.  e. :  the  Weldon  railroad  and  the  Boyd- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  315 

ton  plank-road.     The  preservation  of  this  meant  the  life  of  the 
army  and  of  the  country. 

A    QUESTION    OF   BREAD   AND    MEAT. 

And  this  brings  us  to  a  question  of  bread  and  meat,  and  I  tell 
you  it  was,  at  the  time,  a  very  serious  matter.  My  comrades 
know  how  we  were  put  to  it  for  something  to  eat.  Sometimes  we 
had  bread  (such  as  it  was),  and  sometimes  meat,  sometimes 
neither.  Men  resorted  to  all  sorts  of  devices  to  get  a  square  meal. 
If  perchance  they  met  a  farmer  they  at  once  cultivated  him  as  a 
long  lost  brother  and  made  all  sorts  of  excuses  to  call;  took  the 
girls  to  ride,  etc.,  and  never  left  without  eating  some  meal,  either 
dinner  or  supper.  Our  orderly  sergeant,  a  Frenchman  of  many 
accomplishments,  is  said  to  have  called  on  the  widow  Hancock, 
in  Dinwiddie  County,  and  on  taking  his  leave  also  took  her  gray 
cat,  and  his  mess  ate  her  in  a  stew  smothered  with  garlic  the  next 
day.  "They  say  so" — I  don't  know.  A  Frenchman  has  the  repu 
tation  of  eating  anything. 

GENERAL   HAMPTON  PROPOSES  A   RAID. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  on  the  8th  of  September,  General  Hampton 
addressed  a  note  to  General  Lee  informing  him  that  his  scouts 
reported  to  him  that  a  large  herd  of  cattle  were  grazing  in  the 
rear  of  Grant's  army,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Coggins'  Point  on 
the  James  river,  and  asking  permission  to  take  the  force  of 
cavalry  and  go  down  and  drive  out  the  cattle.  The  old  general 
was  perhaps  hungry  himself.  On  the  9th  General  Lee  replied 
that  the  only  difficulty  of  importance  he  saw  was  in  getting  back 
with  the  cattle.  General  Lee  said  he  was  not  sufficiently  ac 
quainted  with  the  country  to  say  how  that  could  be  effected, 
if  embarrassed  with  wagons  and  cattle,  and  advised  General 
Hampton  to  take  such  a  circuit  as  would  allow  ample  space  for 
his  flank  pickets  to  notify  him  of  danger.  He  said  that  the 
Federal  General  Gregg  was  near  the  Weldon  road,  and  that  he 
would  move  two  brigades  of  infantry  down  the  plank  road  be 
hind  General  Bearing,  who  was  on  that  road  with  his  brigade 
of  cavalry. 


316  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

On  the  13th  Lieutenant  John  F.  Lanneau,  of  Hampton's  Engi 
neer  corps,  wrote  Major  McClellan,  Hampton's  adjutant  general, 
for  a  detail  of  forty  men  and  two  commissioned  officers  from 
Butler's  and  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  divisions.  He  would  furnish  the  de 
tachment  with  tools;  they  would  be  armed  with  pistols,  and 
would  serve  during  the  expedition  as  a  mounted  engineer  troop 
under  his  direction.  He  designated  Lieutenant  Johnson,  Com 
pany  A,  Fourth  South  Carolina  cavalry,  and  Lieutenant  Baus- 
kett,  Sixth  South  Carolina  cavalry,  as  suitable  officers  to  take 
charge  of  the  detail  from  General  Butler's  division. 

The  detail  from  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  division  were  ordered 
to  report  to  Lieutenant  F.  Kobertson  at  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee's 
headquarters,  and  tools  would  be  furnished  them  by  Lieutenant 
Lanneau.  The  men  were  to  be  selected  from  those  accustomed 
to  the  use  of  the  axe. 

BUGLER    SOUNDS    "BOOTS   AND    SADDLES." 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  September,  1864,  long  before 
daylight,  we  were  aroused  from  our  camp  b}^  the  notes  of  the 
bugle  sounding  "Boots  and  Saddles" — and  the  command  to  which 
I  belonged  (the  Stuart  Horse  artillery) — was  ordered  to  saddle 
up  and  move  out  behind  the  Thirteenth  Virginia  cavalry.  We 
waited  seated  on  our  horses  for  a  long  time — all  waiting  seems 
long — and  while  we  waited  we  speculated  upon  where  we  were 
going  and  what  we  were  going  for.  So  little  do  soldiers  know 
of  the  intentions  of  their  officers,  that  some  said  we  were  going 
to  surprise  and  capture  a  brigade  of  negro  troops,  and  we  began 
in  a  spirit  of  humor  to  tell '  what  we  were  going  to  do  with  our 
share  of  the  negroes.  We  had  no  intention  or  idea  that  beeves 
had  any  place  in  the  picture  at  all. 

General  Hampton,  in  his  account,  says:  "On  the  morning  of 
the  14th  I  moved  with  the  division  of  Major-General  W.  H.  F. 
Lee — the  brigades  of  Rosser  and  Bearing,  and  a  detachment  of 
100  men  from  Young's  and  Dunnovant's  brigades,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Lieu  tenant- Colonel  Miller,  Sixth  South  Carolina  cav 
alry,  and  moved  down  the  Rowanty  creek  to  Wilkinson's  bridge 
on  that  stream,  where  the  command  bivouacked  that  night." 

The  command  left  Wilkinson's  bridge  at  an  early  hour  on  the 
15th  and  struck  out  at  a  trot  for  Sycamore  church,  in  Prince 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  317 

George  County,  a  point  most  central  and  nearest  to  the  cattle, 
and  the  place  where  the  largest  force  of  the  enemy  was  camped. 
General  Hampton's  idea  was  that  by  disposing  of  them  here  it 
made  it  impossible  for  them  to  concentrate  any  force  in  time  to 
interfere  with  the  main  object  of  the  expedition.  By  a  rapid 
march  the  command  reached  the  Blackwater,  at  Cook's  bridge, 
which  had  been  destroyed.  General  Hampton  knew  that  the 
bridge  had  been  destroyed  and  purposely  selected  this  route,  as 
the  enemy  would  not  be  likely  to  look  for  an  attack  from  that 
quarter. 

HOW    THEY    BRIDGED    THE    BLACKWATER. 

When  we  reached  the  bridge  we  were  halted  and  dismounted 
to  await  the  arrangements  being  made  by  the  pioneer  people  for 
us  to  cross.  I  shall  never  forget  how  the  bo}rs  went  out  into  the 
fields  and  dug  up  sweet  potatoes,  and  how  they  were  stopped 
when  they  made  fires  to  cook  them.  We  could  not  afford  to 
make  a  smoke,  we  were  informed,  and  some  men  devoured  their 
potatoes  raw.  General  Hampton  had  stopped  all  citizens  en 
route,  allowing  none  to  go  forward  for  fear  information  might 
reach  the  Yankees  of  his  movements.  While  here,  we  rested  and 
fed  our  horses. 

The  bridge  was  completed,  and  at  night  we  crossed  over  the 
Blackwater,  and  were  now  particularly  enjoined  not  to  make  a 
noise,  and  several  times  the  musical  men  of  the  column  were 
cut  short  in  attempted  songs,  which  they  thoughtlessly  began. 
Nothing  was  heard  but  the  steady  tread  of  the  horses  and  the 
rattle  of  the  sabres.  The  guns  of  the  artillery  had  been  muffled 
by  grain  sacks  being  inserted  between  the  elevating  screws  and 
the  guns.  Some  time  about  half-past  three  or  four,  we  were 
halted  in  a  road  very  dark  and  overhung  by  the  branches  of  trees ; 
everything  was  as  still  as  death ;  nothing  disturbed  the  whippoor- 
will's  notes,  so  lonesome  at  all  times,  but  more  doleful  then. 

WITH  THE   SENTINEL   STARS   ABOVE  THEM. 

One  by  one  the  men  would  slip  down  from  their  horses  to  the 
soft  grass,  overcome  by  the  fatigue  following  rapid  movements. 
We  had  now  ceased  to  speculate  upon  where  we  were  going.  We 
were  too  sleepy,  and  soon  most,  if  not  all,  were  dozing  on  the 


318  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ground,  with  our  bridle  reins  around  our  elbows.  If  we  dreamed 
— it  was  of  home — not  of  cattle  nor  war's  alarms.  The  horses, 
too,  slept,  and  showed  no  disposition  to  move  *or  disturb  their 
sleeping  masters.  Here  we  waited.  General  Hampton,  it  seems, 
had  directed  General  Lee  to  move  by  the  Lawyer  road  to  the 
stage  road,  at  which  point  he  would  encounter  the  first  pickets 
of  the  enemy.  Here's  where  we  were  sleeping.  These  pickets 
he  was  to  drive  in,  and  move  then  to  occupy  the  roads  leading 
from  the  direction  of  the  enemy  to  Sycamore  church.  General 
Bearing  was  to  proceed  by  the  Hines  road  to  Cook's  mill,  where 
he  was  to  halt  until  the  attack  in  the  centre  was  made,  when  he 
was  to  dash  across  to  Mingo  Ferry  road,  attacking  the  post  on 
that  road  and  cutting  off  all  retreat,  guarding  at  the  same  time 
against  an  attack  from  Fort  Powhatan,  Rosser's  brigade  and  Mil 
ler's  detachment  moved  on  by  roads  direct  towards  Sycamore 
church.  General  Rosser  was  to  carry  the  position  of  the  enemy 
here,  and  after  doing  so,  to  push  forward  at  once  to  secure  the 
cattle.  General  Hampton  says  the  three  columns  all  reached  the 
points  to  which  they  were  ordered  without  giving  alarm.  Our 
long  wait  wras  to  end,  our  naps  were  soon  to  be  broken. 

ROSSER  ATTACKS  THE  ENEMY. 

At  5  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Rosser,  over  on  the  right,  made  the 
attack.  At  the  sound  of  the  first  shots  every  man  in  the  road 
who  had  dismounted  sprank  to  his  saddle,  and  we  heard  the  well 
known  yell,  that  cry  known  as  the  "rebel  yell"  and  which  had 
struck  terror  to  our  enemies  on  a  hundred  bloody  fields.  It  is  an 
exultant  sound,  unshrouded  ,by  the  form  of  words,  and  on  our 
right  it  rang  out  on  the  early  morning  air  from  lusty  lungs,  and 
in  a  minute  every  horse  was  in  full  gallop  in  our  road  and  we 
were  upon  the  picket,  who  seemed  to  have  no  idea  of  an  enemy, 
although  we  had  been  so  near  him  since  nine  or  ten  o'clock  that 
night.  We  rode  the  picket  down  and  found  the  camp  on  both 
sides  of  the  road.  Some,  of  course,  were  up  and  on  guard,  but  the 
majority  of  the  Federals  were  in  bed  in  their  little  buttoned  tents. 

CAPTURED  IN   THEIR   NIGHT   CLOTHES. 

We  ran  them  out  and  took  them  prisoners  in  their  night 
clothes.  It  was  the  First  District  of  Columbia  Cavalry,  and  I 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  319 

think  we  took  the  most  of  them,  with  their  camp  and  splendid 
horses.  I  remember  how  forlorn  they  looked  as  we  mustered 
them  out  later  in  the  day,  many  sitting  on  bare-backed  horses 
with  nothing  on  but  their  shirts.  General  Rosser,  it  appears,  had 
about  as  much  as  he  could  attend  to.  He  encountered  Colonel 
Spears,  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  the  same  command  that 
had  made  a  name  for  itself  as  a  fighting  regiment.  They  made 
a  good  fight  for  their  meat,  but  Rosser  finally  whipped  them  and 
they  fell  back,  leaving  their  dead  and  wounded  in  the  field,  as 
well  as  their  camp.  General  Bearing,  on  the  right,  made  his  at 
tack  according  to  programme,  and  was  entirely  successful. 

THE  MONSTER  CATTLE  DRIVE. 

General  Rosser  without  delay  began  to  drive  out  the  cattle,  and 
General  Hampton  says  "there  were  2,486  head  of  them."  General 
Hampton  says  in  his  report  to  General  Lee  that  he  withdrew  all 
forces  before  8  A.  M.,  and  the  different  columns  were  united 
before  reaching  the  Blackwater. 

That's  all  right  in  the  abstract;  but  now  comes  the  return, 
which  General  Lee  said  he  feared  more  than  anything  else.  Be 
fore  we  united  at  the  Blackwater,  the  command  that  I  belonged 
to  moved  on  to  Prince  George  Court  House  and  looked  for  the 
opposing  troops.  Some  of  the  cavalry  found  the  enemy,  and 
while  others  cut  down  trees  on  the  edge  of  a  piece  of  woods, 
tried  to  toll  him  up  where  we  had  our  artillery  posted  with  a 
dismounted  support. 

THE  GUNBOATS  OPEN  FIRE. 

They  did  not  at  once  show  a  disposition  to  come  out,  but  very 
soon  Uncle  Sam's  gunboats  on  the  James  river  got  our  range, 
and,  as  we  did  not  go  down  there  really  to  fight,  we  took  tht» 
back  track  at  a  trot,  stimulated  by  the  bursting  of  a  huge  shell 
every  now  and  then  in  uncomfortable  proximity. 

As  I  said,  we  moved  at  a  trot.  In  fact,  we  trotted  most  of  the 
time,  that  is  when  we  were  not  in  a  gallop.  We  were  making 
haste  to  join  the  columns  at  the  Blackwater,  Rosser  ahead  with 
the  cattle,  followed  by  General  Bearing  and  Colonel  Miller, 
General  Lee  bringing  up  the  rear. 


320  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

After  the  command  had  crossed  the  Blackwater,  we  trotted 
towards  the  plank-road.  General  Rosser  advised  General  Hamp 
ton  that  a  large  force  of  the  enemy  was  approaching  on  that  road. 
General  Hampton  ordered  him  to  take  position  at  Ebenezer 
Church  and  to  hold  the  road  there  and  send  the  cattle  by  Haw- 
kinsville  Crossing,  the  plank- road  two  miles  in  the  rear  of  the  line 
of  battle,  which  was  at  once  formed.  Major  Venable,  General 
Hampton's  adjutant  general,  and  Major  Ryals,  provost  marshal, 
took  charge  of  the  cattle  and  were  to  put  them  across  the  Notto- 
way  river  at  Freeman's  Ford.  General  Rosser  held  his  ground 
and  Colonel  Miller  and  General  Bearing  soon  came  to  his  as 
sistance. 


General  Lee  came  into  the  fight  before  it  was  over,  and  I  well 
remember  how  his  dismounted  men,  as  they  advanced  to  a  mill 
pond  through  the  bushes,  called  to  the  Yankees  to  come  over  and 
get  their  bulls,  and  bellowed  at  them  in  derision. 

We  had  some  little  fighting — not  half  as  much  as  we  antici 
pated — and  before  9  o'clock  we  had  left  our  enemy  far  in  the 
rear  and  crossed  the  water  by  a  dam,  and  were  trotting  towards 
our  own  lines.  We  had  captured  some  prisoners,  and  among 
them  a  telegraph  corps.  They  were  splendid  looking  fellows, 
much  better  dressed  than  the  ordinary  Yankee  soldier,  and  their 
wagons  and  teams  were  splendid.  In  crossing  the  dam,  which 
was  very  narrow,  one  wagon  with  six  mules  fell  down  the  bank, 
and  to  make  the  road  clear,  it  was  bodily  thrown  into  the  water 
so  we  could  cross. 


I  shall  never  forget  how  sorry  I  felt  for  the  telegraph  men, 
who  had  to  drop  all  their  dignity  and  trot  to  keep  up  with  the 
hurrying  column.  Among  the  killed  was  the  gallant  McCalla  of 
the  First  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  He  and  Hogan.  one  of  But 
ler's  scouts,  were  along  and  rendered  valuable  service.  We  had 
traveled  one  hundred  miles  and  had  two  fights,  and  best  of  all 
had  furnished  fresh  meat  for  General  Lee's  starving  army,  many 
of  whom  had  not  tasted  fresh  meat  for  months. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  321 

THE  NUMBER  OF  HAMPTON 's  MEN. 

I  have  always  understood  that  General  Hampton's  entire  force 
on  this  expedition  was  about  2,700  cavalry  and  four  pieces  of 
artillery,  two  of  McGregor's  guns  and  two  of  Hart's  battery,  of 
which  all  South  Carolinians  have  heard. 

WHAT    THE    FEDERALS  .SAY. 

Now  let's  see  by  the  records  what  our  "friends  the  enemy"  were 
doing  all  this  time.  It  seems  that  they  had  gotten  wind  of  the 
proposed  raid. 

The  first  thing  in  the  "Official  Eecords"  of  the  "War  of  the 
Rebellion"  is  a  dispatch  from  Colonel  George  H.  Sharp  to  Gen 
eral  Humphries,  chief  of  staff  to  General  Meade,  simply  stating 
that  he  had  information  from  a  prisoner  from  the  Seventh  Vir 
ginia  Cavalry,  who  reported  that  Hampton  had  broken  through 
at  Sycamore  Church,  and  had  captured  2,500  head  of  cattle  with 
but  little  loss,  etc.  Humphries  ordered  General  Davis  to  strike 
the  returning  enemy  at  once. 


The  next  is  a  dispatch  at  6  A.  M.  of  the  16th,  from  General 
Kautz  to  Captain  H.  C.  Weir,  assistant  adjutant  general,  to  the 
effect  that  his  pickets  had  been  driven  in  from  Mount  Sinai 
Church  to  the  Powhatan  stage  road,  that  the  commanding  offi 
cer  of  the  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  thought  quite  a  num 
ber  of  horses  had  been  captured.  He  didn't  consider  it  serious, 
as  the  reserves  had  not  yet  been  disturbed.  He  had  not  the  news 
good  yet.  At  7  A.  M.  he  says  he  feared  the  First  District  cavalry 
had  been  entrapped  and  that  the  sounds  of  firing  were  quite 
lively  on  the  Powhatan  road,  and  that  he  had  sent  a  squad  of  the 
Third  New  York  Cavalry  to  the  stage  road  and  that  Colonel 
Jacobs  has  been  ordered  to  dislodge  them.  At  8 :30  he  knew  we 
were  after  the  cattle ;  at  9 :15  he  knew  that  the  cattle  guard  and 
the  First  District  of  Columbia  cavalry  were  captured;  at  11:30 
he  knew  that  we  had  the  cattle  and  that  we  were  "14,000  strong." 


21 — B.  C. 


322  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


A  disptach  from  Major  W.  A.  VanRansellear,  of  the  Eighth 
New  York  Infantry,  to  General  Patrick,  provost  marshal,  says: 
"I  have  just  met  a  private  of  the  First  District  of  Columbia 
Cavalry,  who  was  captured,  and  he  says  they  had  four  killed  and 
about  300  captured.  They  also  got  one  herd  of  2,600  cattle.  One 
man  reports  he  saw  ten  regiments  of  infantry  and  a  battery  of 
eight  guns.  The  First  District  of  Columbia  cavalry  is  terribly 
demoralized.  One  of  their  captains  says  he  killed  a  brigadier- 
general.  From  what  I  can  learn  I  think  the  rebels  are  about 
5,000  with  eight  guns.  They  all  belong  to  Hampton's  Legion. 
General  Kautz  and  Gregg  are  after  them."  The  suggestion  that 
•General  Hampton's  Legion  was  5,000  strong  is  amusing.  I  don't 
think  we  ever  had  over  half  that  amount  in  the  best  days.  The 
same  major  reports  us  in  full  retreat  at  9  A.  M.  1  think  in  this 
he  was  correct. 

General  Patrick  at  once  ordered  Colonel  T.  B.  Gates,  com 
manding  at  City  Point,  to  put  his  command  in  position  to  pro 
tect  the  depot.  At  10  A.  M.  of  the  16th,  General  Meade  advised 
General  Grant  that  at  daylight  his  pickets  and  reserves,  between 
the  James  and  the  Blackwater,  were  strongly  attacked  and  that  at 
the  same  time  a  dash  was  made  for  the  cattle  herd  at  Coggins' 
Point,  and  he  feared  that  the  herd  had  fallen  info  the  enemy's 
hands. 

GENERAL  MEADE5S  FEARS  WELL  FOUNDED. 

General  Meade  was  certainly  correct  in  his  report.  General 
Meade  says  he  had  feared, this  raid  for  some  time,  as  with  the 
limited  force  of  cavalry  at  his  command  and  the  great  extent 
of  the  country  to  be  watched,  he  had  always  considered  Coggins' 
Point  an  unsuitable  point  for  the  cattle  herd,  it  being  liable  to 
capture  at  any  time  by  a  coup-de-main  of  the  enemy  in  force. 

Now  I  thought  it  was  a  beef  raid,  and  all  the  time  it  was  a 
"coup-de-main"  I  have  heard  of  them,  but  here  I  was  face  to 
face  with  one  "in  force." 

General  Grant  telegraphed  to  General  Meade  from  Harper's 
Ferry  at  9  A.  M.  of  the  18th,  that  if  the  enemy  had  made  so  rich 
a  haul  as  the  cattle  herd,  that  he  would  be  likely  to  strike  far  to 
the  south  or  southeast  to  get  back  with  it  and  that  their  cavalry 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  323 

should  either  recover  what  was  lost  or  else  in  the  absence  of  so 
much  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  they  should  strike  the  Weldon  road. 
General  Meade  reports  to  General  Grant  on  the  16th,  at  10:30 
P.  M.,  that  Kautz  reports  that  the  enemy  retired  as  soon  as  he 
got  the  cattle  and  that  he  was  in  pursuit  on  the  Prince  George 
Court  House  road  and  Davies  on  the  Jerusalem  road,  but  that 
Hampton's  force  was  so  far  superior  to  theirs  and  he  had  so 
much  the  start  of  him  that  he  could  do  no  more  than  harass  us. 
I  did  not  (at  one  time)  see  how  we  could  get  out  of  the  trouble. 
From  this  on  everybody  began  to  make  reports  and  they  seemed 
to  think  that  we  would  certainly  attack  Fort  Powhatan  on  the 
James  river.  They  did  not  know  how  anxious  we  were  to  get 
away  from  the  river. 

THE    FORGES    PURSUING    HAMPTON. 

Now,  let's  see  who  they  sent  after  us.  First,  General  Hum 
phries,  General  Meade's  chief  of  staff,  sent  General  Davies  with  all 
his  cavalry.  Then  came  a  brigade  of  infantry  and  a  battery  of 
artillery  to  the  Jerusalem  road.  Next  came  General  Kautz,  with 
his  cavalry,  to  the  Prince  George  Court  House  road.  Next  Gen 
eral  Humphries  ordered  Colonel  Smith,  of  the  second  division, 
second  corps,  to  send  a  strong  brigade  and  a  battery  of  artillery 
down  the  plank  road,  and  last  he  directed  the  cavalry  force, 
which  was  picketing  between  the  plank  road  and  the  Blackwater, 
to  be  withdrawn  and  to  join  in  the  pursuit. 

THE  PETTY  FIGHT  THE  FEDERALS  MADE. 

And  all  that  any  of  them  did  was  to  make  the  little  fight  that 
General  Davies  reports  at  10:30  P.  M.  of  the  16th.  He  reports 
from  Proctor's  on  the  Jerusalem  road,  that  he  marched  there  at 
12 :30  P.  M.  and  sent  a  brigade  over  the  Jerusalem  plank  road 
to  intercept  the  enemy;  met  them  at  a  point  about  five  miles 
hence  and  drove  them  about  a  mile  (he  did  not  drive  us — we 
were  going  for  all  we  were  worth)  to  the  vicinity  of  Hawkins- 
ville,  where  he  found  them  strongly  posted  between  earthworks, 
having  in  their  front  an  impassable  swamp.  He  moved  down 
and  found  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  division,  which  he  failed  to 
dislodge,  and  gave  up  the  job  on  that  road,  and  sent  a  brigade 
to  Stoney  creek  to  try  to  intercept  the  head  of  the  column  there. 


324  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

All  this  time  our  cattle  were  on  the  trot,  and  with  all  their  forces 

they  could  not  stop  them. 

• 

A  SAFE  APPEAL  TO  THE  VERDICT  OF  HISTORY. 

I  think,  as  I  have  intimated,  this  raid  ranks  with  any  perform 
ance  by  any  troops,  and  I  am  surprised  that  abler  pens  than  mine 
have  not  long  since  given  it  the  prominence  that  it  deserved. 

DAVID  CARDWELL, 
Of  McGregor's  Battery,  Stuart  Horse  Artillery. 

[When  General  Hampton  went  after  the  cattle,  both  Generals 
Butler  and  Young  were  sick  at  camp  in  their  tents.  General  Ros- 
ser  of  Butler's  division  went  on  the  raid,  while  General  Dunovant 
would  drive  the  Yankee  pickets  in  ever}^  morning  in  order  to 
make  them  think  that  Butler  would  attack  them  at  once.  For 
three  mornings  Hancock's  pickets'  were  driven  in  just  at  sunrise, 
and  Butler's  men,  who  did  the  driving,  got  nice  breakfasts. — 14th, 
15th,  and  16th.— U.  R.  Brooks.] 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  325 


BATTLE  OF  McDOWELL'S  FARM 

A  courier's  narrative  of  the  capture  of  Lieutenant  A.  P.  Butler, 
September  30,  1864,  and  the  conduct  of  Butler's  brigade  at  the 
battle  of  McDowell's  Farm,  October  1,  1864,  together  with  an 
account  of  the  death  of  Brigadier-General  John  Dunovant. 

On  the  29th  and  30th  days  of  September,  1864,  Butler's  brigade 
of  Hampton's  cavalry,  composed  of  the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth 
regiments  of  South  Carolina  cavalry,  and  then  commanded  by 
Brigadier-General  John  Dunovant  (Butler  having  been  promoted 
to  the  command  of  the  division)  was  moved  to  and  fro,  up  and 
down  the  line,  across  the  Vaughan  and  Squirrel  Level  roads, 
below  Petersburg,  Va.,  to  meet  attacks  at  various  points  threat 
ened,  or  being  made  by  Grant's  army,  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
30th,  a  short  time  before  sundown,  the  Fourth  regiment  was  dis 
mounted  and  thrown  in  to  support  some  command  that  was  being 
pressed  back.  After  a  sharp  little  fight,  lasting  until  dusk,  having 
succeeded,  they  wTere  withdrawn,  and  uniting  with  the  other  two 
regiments,  who  had  been  mere  lookers  on,  the  brigade  went  into 
camp.  The  writer  of  this  article  was  on  camp  guard,  and  about 
10  o'clock  P.  M.  a  horseman,  Major  Emmett  Seibels,  galloped  up 
and  inquired  for  brigade  headquarters,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
thereafter  the  brigade  was  in  the  saddle  moving  as  we  understood 
to  support  the  other  brigade  of  our  division — Georgians — com 
manded  by  that  gallant  and  handsome  brigadier,  P.  M.  B.  Young, 
who,  we  were  told,  had  been  hard  pressed  that  day,  and  had  lost 
ground,  that  would  have  to  be  retaken  on  the  next  day. 

The  camp  guard — ten  men — commanded  by  Captain  Sullivan, 
of  the  Sixth  regiment,  were,  as  advance  guard,  moved  out  ahead 
of  the  brigade,  but  were  soon  overtaken  by  General  Dunovant 
and  his  staff,  who  requested  us  to  move  to  one  side  of  the  road 
so  that  they  could  pass.  Captain  Sullivan  answered  that  we  were 
the  advance  guard,  and  the  general  replied:  "Oh,  there  is  no 
danger  on  this  road;  I  will  be  the  advance  guard  myself  to 
night."  So  we  moved  to  one  side,  and  as  we  did  so,  a  limb 
knocked  my  hat  off,  and  it  fell  under  the  horses'  feet  as  they  rode 
by.  It  was  a  very  dark  night,  misting  rain,  and  it  was  useless 


326  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

to  attempt  to  get  it,  so  I  tied  a  handkerchief  over  my  head,  and 
after  the  general  and  his  staff  had  passed,  we  fell  in  behind  him 
and  followed  on.  After  riding  about  a  mile  «r  a  mile  and  a 
half,  w^hile  going  through  what  was  apparently  a  field,  we  were 
suddenly  halted  by  a  voice  not  more  than  25  or  30  steps  in  ad 
vance  of  us,  yelling  out,  "Halt,  halt,  or  we  fire !"  We  came  to  an 
instantaneous  halt,  and  the  general  answered,  "I  am  Dunovant, 
let  me  pass,"  and  again  the  voice  called  out,  "I  don't  know  you, 
dismount,  one  of  you,  and  advance  and  give  the  countersign/' 
The  general  replied  again,  "I  tell  you  I  am  Dunovant,  let  me 
pass."  "Dam  Dunovant,"  was  shouted  back;  "we  don't  know 
you ;  if  one  of  you  do  not  dismount  and  come  up  here  and  let  us 
know  who  you  are,  we  will  fire."  The  general  then  turned  to  one 
of  his  staff,  Lieutenant  Butler,  and  directed  him  to  dismount  and 
go  up  and  let  those  men  know  who  we  were.  The  lieutenant 
replied  in  a  low  voice,  "General,  those  are  Yankees,"  and  the 
general  asked  him  "if  he  was  afraid."  The  lieutenant  jumped 
from  his  horse,  and  saying  "No,  I  am  not  afraid,  but  I  am  gone 
up,"  started  up  leading  his  horse.  Hearing  his  horses  feet,  the 
voice  from  in  front  called  out,  "Dismount  or  we  will  fire,"  and 
Lieutenant  Butler  then  called  back,  "Dam  you,  I  have  dis 
mounted,  I  am  leading  my  horse,"  and  the  fellow  answered,  "All 
right."  When  the  voice  first  called  out,  I  whispered  to  my  left 
hand  file,  Abe  Broadwater  of  Edgefield  District,  S.  C.,  "Abe, 
these  are  Yankees,"  and  he  answered  that  he  thought  so  too.  We 
then  drew  our  old  sabres,  expecting  an  order  to  charge  every 
second.  When  the  lieutenant  dismounted,  I  said  to  Abe,  "The 
general  evidently  thinks  these  fellows  are  our  men,  and  there  is 
going  to  be  a  stampede  here  in  a  minute."  He  replied,  "Yes, 
let  us  drawn  to  each  side  of  the  road,  so  they  can  go  between  us ; 
if  we  don't  wTe  will  be  run  over."  I  agreed  with  him,  and  we 
pulled  our  horses  as  closely  to  the  side  of  the  road  as  we  could, 
the  brigade,  coming  on,  being  then  but  a  few  yards  in  our  rear. 
We  had  hardly  done  so,  when,  as  Lieutenant  Butler  reached  the 
man  who  had  been  talking,  a  light  flashed  out  for  an  instant,  re 
vealing  a  large  tree  and  a  paling  fence  in  front  of  us,  and  again 
the  voice  called  out,  "He  is  a  damned  rebel,  fire."  I  instantly 
leant  as  far  forward  as  I  could  on  my  horse's  neck;  it  seemed  to 
me  at  the  time  almost  directly  in  our  faces,  and  yet  strange  to  say. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  327 

not  a  man  nor  a  horse  was  hurt  seriously,  but  the  panic  for  'a 
moment  or  two  was  awful.  The  brigade  had  just  reached  us, 
and  having  heard  nothing  of  the  conversation  that  had  passed, 
the  first  knowledge  of  the  enemy's  presence  being  the  musketry 
fire  in  their  faces,  they  broke,  but  were  soon  rallied,  and  having 
moved  a  little  to  the  right,  and  united  with  the  Georgians,  we 
went  into  camp.  We  lost  Lieutenant  Butler,  who  was  taken 
prisoner  by  those  into  wThose  hands  he  had  walked.  The  next 
morning,  after  a  sumptuous  repast  on  a  hard  tack  and  a  piece  of 
pickled  pork,  we  were  moved  forward  to  support  the  Georgians, 
who  had  attacked  the  enemy  just  after  daylight.  As  the  Geor 
gians  drove  them  slowly  back,  we  moved  forward,  and  near 
Armstrong's  house,  were  halted  in  the  field.  Noticing  a  Yankee 
sergeant  lying  close  to  the  road  and  his  hat  lying  by  him,  I  rode 
out  of  the  ranks  to  him  to  get  his  hat,  being  still  bareheaded  ex 
cept  for  my  handkershief,  but  the  fellow  had  been  shot  through 
the  head  and  the  hat  was  besmeared  with  blood  and  brains,  and 
I  was  not  yet  sufficiently  hardened  to  take  it,  so  I  returned  to  the 
ranks,  and  we  were  again  moved  forward.  At  our  next  halt, 
however,  about  100  or  150  yards  further  on,  a  Yankee  lieutenant 
was  lying  dead,  and  his  cap  had  rolled  off  a  few  feet,  and  being 
in  pretty  good  condition,  I  jumped  from  my  horse  and  got  it. 
About  half  a  mile  from  this  spot,  as  nearly  as  I  can  estimate  it, 
we  were  again  halted  on  a  timbered  ridge.  Near  us  we  saw  our 
division  commander,  Major-General  M.  C.  Butler,  and  General 
Young,  sitting  on  their  horses  upon  a  brink  of  a  ridge  over 
looking  an  open  valley  or  field  on  the  right,  in  which  some  of  the 
brave  Georgians  were  deployed  and  fighting  with  the  enemy,  who 
were  slowly  advancing  from  out  of  a  wood  on  the  other  side  of 
this  open  field.  Young  was  cursing  and  storming  in  that  sten 
torian  voice  of  his,  which  could  be  heard  for  half  a  mile.  "Hold 
your  ground  down  there,  you  damned  scoundrels,"  was  one  of  his 
mildest  expressions.  The  men  were  fighting  gallantly  against 
heavy  odds,  as  we  could  plainly  see,  and  I  remember  well  how 
indignant  I  was  at  General  Young,  much  as  I  admired  him,  for 
cursing  them  so  outrageously.  We  were  not  allowed  to  watch 
them  but  a  few  moments,  however,  when  the  Fourth  regiment 
was  dismounted,  and  accompanied  by  General  Dunovant  in  per 
son,  moved  off  to  the  left  down  a  slope  out  of  sight  from  us.  In  a 


328  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

few  minutes  General  Dunovant  rode  back  and  told  Captain  Sul 
livan,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Sixth  regiment,  that  he  wanted 
four  men.  Captain  Sullivan  turned  to  my  captSin,  J.  J.  Gregg, 
and  directed  him  to  detail  four  men  to  report  to  the  general. 
Captain  Gregg  turned  to  me,  as  I  was  No.  1  of  the  first  group  of 
fours,  and  directed  us  to  obey  the  order,  all  of  which  we  had 
heard.  I  instantly  rode  up  to  the  general  and  he  led  us  down  the 
same  slope  that  the  Fourth  had  traversed  a  few  minutes  before, 
and  crossing  a  little  branch,  the  banks  of  which  were  covered 
with  thick  undergrowth,  we  came  up  with  the  regiment  de 
ployed  in  an  open  field,  that  ascended  in  a  gentle  slope  from  the 
branch.  Riding  through  the  field  to  the  right  of  the  regiment 
General  Dunovant  told  me  to  go  out  into  the  timber  and  brush 
between  the  right  of  the  regiment  and  the  creek,  and  take  a  stand 
some  75  yards  from  them  in  the  timber  and  watch  the  enemy  if 
they  advanced  so  that  the  regiment  would  not  be  flanked.  As  he 
turned  back  he  called  to  me,  that  he  trusted  me  there,  and  that 
I  must  not  let  his  regiment  be  cut  off  and  captured.  I  replied 
that  I  would  do  my  best.  He  rode  off,  posting  another  of  the 
four  men  some  distance  in  my  rear.  I  was  never  in  a  place  that 
I  disliked  worse  than  this  spot.  The  regiment  was  out  in  the 
open  field  to  my  left,  with  a  high  rail  fence  between  (one  of  the 
men  had  pulled  it  down  for  me  to  ride  through).  In  front  and 
to  the  right  of  me  was  heavy  timber  with  thick  undergrowth,  and 
I  could  not  see  for  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  steps  in  any  direction. 
I  rode  up  behind  a  tree  about  18  inches  in  diameter  and  sat  there 
peering  out  into  the  brush  with  eyes  as  big  as  saucer^,  waiting  for 
the  Yankees  to  come,  and  I  did  not  have  long  to  wait,  for  before 
the  general  had  left  me  five  minutes,  the  firing  began  between 
them  and  the  Fourth  in  the  field.  I  sat  as  still  as  I  possibly 
could,  hoping  that  the  Fourth  would  whip  them  before  they 
discovered  the  "lone  picket"  hid  in  the  brush,  but  I  was  doomed 
to  disappointment,  for  after  the  firing  in  the  field  had  lasted  for 
some  10  or  12  minutes,  a  shot  was  fired  in  front  of  me  and  a  bullet 
hit  the  tree  behind  which  I  was  trying  to  hide.  Hastily  pulling 
my  horse  back  from  it,  as  another  bullet  whistled  past  my  head, 
I  saw  the  smoke  of  the  gun,  probably  75  or  80  yards  in  front  of 
me,  and  then  I  fired  at  the  smoke  of  the  gun,  for  I  could  see  no 
body.  In  a  few*  minutes  a  small  body  of  "blue  coats"  came  ad- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  329 

vancing  through  the  brush  up  to  the  creek  to  my  right.  Seeing 
at  once  that  the  regiment  was  in  danger  of  being  cut  off,  as  the 
general  had  feared,  I  wheeled  my  horse  and  rode  as  fast  as  I 
could  through  the  brush  to  the  fence,  over  which  my  horse 
leaped,  and  then  I  saw  the  Fourth  falling  back,  and  Colonel 
Stokes  commanding  them,  riding  up  and  down,  ordering  them 
to  reform  at  the  creek.  I  informed  him  that  the  enemy  were  also 
advancing  up  the  creek,  and  he  ordered  the  regiment  to  cross 
the  creek  and  form  on  the  ridge  on  the  other  side.  This  was 
done,  and  thinking  my  little  job  was  over,  I  started  back,  but 
was  halted  by  an  officer  lying  down  near  the  road,  (Lieutenant 
Richmond  S.  Cobb,  Company  C,  Sixth  South  Carolina  cavalry, 
killed  that  evening)  and  he  requested  me  to  picket  the  road 
where  it  crossed  the  branch.  I  told  him  I  would  not  be  able  to 
see  anything  unless  they  came  out  into  the  road,  and  he  answered, 
"I  want  to  know  when  they  are  coming."  I  turned  my  horse 
slowly  and  rode  to  a  spot  near  some  old  field  pines,  near  the 
brink  of  the  creek  bank,  from  which  I  could  overlook  the  cross 
ing.  In  a  few  moments  I  saw  a  few  Yankees  crossing  the  road, 
and  as  I  again  wheeled  to  get  out  of  the  way,  two  bullets  whistled 
past  my  head.  This  time  I  saw  both  men  when  they  raised  their 
guns  to  aim  at  me,  but  not  being  more  than  40  or  50  steps  from 
them,  I  did  not  take  time  to  return  an  acknowledgment  of  their 
salute,  but  made  a  masterly  retreat  behind  the  pines,  until  I  got 
near  the  lieutenant,  when  I  shouted  to  him  that  they  were  at  the 
crossing.  This  brave  officer  gallantly  rose  to  his  feet  and  called 
to  me,  "I  thank  you  very  much  for  what  you  have  done."  I  had 
been  feeling  rather  angrily  at  him  for  sending  me  where  he  had, 
but  these  thanks  put  me  in  a  good  humor  and  I  saluted  him  and 
rode  off  to  report  to  the  general,  as  the  firing  commenced,  but 
the  Yankee  attack  at  this  point  was  feebly  made  and  they  were 
soon  driven  back.  I  found  the  general  (Dunovant)  a  short 
distance  in  rear  of  the  line  down  the  slope  talking  with  his  adju 
tant-general,  Captain  Jeffords.  I  made  my  report,  and  after 
listening  to  it,  the  general  told  me  to  remain  with  him  and  act 
as  courier  for  him,  as  he  needed  me.  I  then  found  out  that  the 
company— UB"— to  which  I  belonged,  had  been,  shortly  after  I 
had  been  sent  off,  detailed  to  watch  some  other  point,  and  I  did 
not  see  any  of  them  until  about  sundown,  when  Captain  Gregg 


330  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

came  upon  the  field  serving  as  a  volunteer  staff  officer.  He  and 
I  were  the  only  ones  of  the  company  who  got  into  the  fight  that 
day.  Shortly  afterwards  General  Dunovant  rode*  off,  leaving  me 
with  Captain  Jeffords.  In  about  15  minutes,  however,  he  re 
turned  and  ordered  me  to  go  to  Captain  Sullivan  of  the  Sixth 
and  tell  him  that  Chambliss'  brigade  would  shortly  charge  the 
enemy  in  the  flank,  and  as  soon  as  the  yell  was  heard  for  him, 
Sullivan,  to  charge  in  front  and  to  send  the  order  along  the  line, 
so  it  Avould  be  fully  known.  Starting  to  ride  off  the  general 
called  me  back,  and  told  me  to  tie  my  horse  to  a  tree  and  go  on 
foot,  as  there  was  plenty  of  time  and  there  was  no  use,  he  said, 
to  expose  myself  unnecessarily.  Dismounting,  I  tied  my  horse 
and  ascending  the  little  rise  a  short  distance,  say  100  yards  from 
the  top  of  the  slope,  I  found  the  Sixth  lying  down  behind  a  rail 
fence  which  they  had  torn  down  and  threw  into  piles  and  skir 
mishing  with  the  enemy.  This  fight  was  shortly  after  Hampton's 
capture  of  the  2,500  beeves  from  Grant's  army,  and  as  I  crawled 
along  from  rail  pile  to  rail  pile  looking  for  Captain  Sullivan, 
the  men  were  bellowing  like  bulls,  and  shouting  over  to  the  Yan 
kees,  "Good,  fat  beef  over  here;  come  over  and  <*et  some,"  and 
then  a  fellow  would  jump  up  and  bellow,  and  by  the  time  he 
dropped,  bullets  would  be  whistling  over  our  heads  and  rattling 
on  the  rail  piles.  As  I  passed  along  I  tried  to  persuade  them  to 
wait  until  I  could  get  by,  but  with  little  success.  The  bellowing 
continued  all  the  time  I  was  there.  Having  found  Captain  Sul 
livan  and  communicated  to  him,  as  well  as  all  the  other  officers 
I  saw,  the  order.  I  returned  to  General  Dunovant,  and  in  less  than 
half  an  hour  we  heard  the  rebel  yell  on  our  right  and  the  general 
and  Captain  Jeffords  dashed  forward.  The  brigade  sprang  over 
the  rail  piles  and  charged  across  the  fields  upon  the  Yankees  not 
more  than  200  or  250  yards  from  us,  and  took  their  line  from 
them',  another  lot  of  rail  piles,  strengthened  with  hastily  thrown 
up  embankments  and  logs.  This  charge  would  have  been  far 
more  successful  than  it  wTas  had  not  the  brigade,  as  they  dashed 
forward,  been  momentarily  checked  by  discovering  that  they 
were  being  charged  by  the  Virginians,  who  had,  in  attempting  to 
flank  the  Yankees,  not  gone  quite  far  enough,  and  had  charged 
us  instead  of  the  Yanks.  I  heard  afterwards  that  Major-General 
Butler,  who  was  leading  the  charge  on  our  right,  had  leveled 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  331 

his  pistol  on  a  Virginia  colonel  and  was  in  the  act  of  firing  when 
he  recognized  him.  This  mistake,  however,  enabled  the  Yankees 
to  get  out  of  their  entrenchments  and  retreat  before  we  got  many 
of  them.  The  brigade  now  reformed  behind  the  works  we  had 
taken,  and  as  I  rode  up  with  General  Dunovant,  we  met  General 
Butler  and  a  hurried  conversation  ensued  between  them  which 
(being  the  first  time  I  had  ever  heard  generals  discussing  a 
movement  on  the  battlefield)  deeply  impressed  me.  Butler  asked 
Dunovant  if  he  was  familiar  with  the  ground,  and  being  an 
swered  "No,"  turned  to  another  officer  who  was  on  foot,  and  said, 
"Major  Farley,  have  you  not  been  over  the  ground  before."  Far 
ley  answered,  "Yes,  I  reconnoitred  it  two  or  three  days  ago." 
Butler  then  said,  "Does  this  creek  not  make  a  bend  here,  and 
if  I  move  down  the  creek,  can  I  not  get  enfilade  fire  upon  the 
enemy's  position  on  the  other  side?"  Farley  answered,  "Yes." 
Butler  at  once  turned  to  Dunovant  and  said,  "General,  move  the" 
brigade  by  the  right  flank  down  this  creek  until  you  get  that 
position,  then  attack."  During  this  conversation  I  had  noticed 
that  Dunovant  had  seemed  to  be  very  impatient,  and  when  Butler 
gave  him  this  order,  he  saluted  and  replied:  "Oh,  General,  let 
me  charge  'em,  we've  got  'em  going  and  let  us  keep  'em  going." 
Butler  said,  "General,  I  am  afraid  I  will  lose  too  many  men." 
"Oh,  no  we  won't,"  ansAvered  Dunovant,  "my  men  are  perfectly 
enthusiastic  and  ready  to  charge,  an  we've  got  the  Yankees  de 
moralized,  one  more  charge  will  finish  'em.  Let  me  charge  them." 
Then  I  saw  Butler's  face  change.  He  had  been  calm  and  un 
moved  till  then,  but  as  Dunovant  said  this,  his  face  flushed,  his 
eyes  seemed  to  grow  darker  (I  was  looking  him  directly  in  the 
face  not  five  feet  from  him)  and  in  a  voice  short,  sharp  and  stern, 
he  called  to  Dunovant,  "Charge  them,  sir,  if  you  wish."  In 
stantly  Dunovant  wheeled  his  horse,  and  his  voice  rang  out  to  the 
brigade,  "Forward,  charge !"  and  as  the  cry  ran  down  the  line, 
and  the  brigade  went  over  the  works  into  the  brush  on  the  creek 
bank,  Dunovant  rushed  out  into  the  road  and  down  to  the  creek, 
shouting  to  the  men  to  charge,  and  just  as  he  reached  the  creek, 
I  saw  him  fall  from  his  horse  to  the  ground,  and  reigning  my 
horse  back  for  fear  of  treading  on  him,  two  men  picked  him  up 
instantly,  and  as  they  did  so,  General  Butler  leaned  almost  over 
on  his  horse's  neck  and  called  out,  "Who  is  that  shot?"  I  replied, 


332  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"General  Dunovant."  "Is  he  killed?"  he  asked.  I  answered, 
"Yes,  I  think  so."  Butler  then  said  to  the  men  who  had  him, 
"Carry  him  back,  and  don't  let  the  men  know  it,*  and  turning  to 
Colonel  Stokes,  who  was  also  there,  said,  "Colonel,  take  command 
of  the  brigade."  By  this  time  the  brigade  had  been  repulsed  and 
was  falling  back.  Stokes,  telling  me  to  come  with  him,  rode  back, 
and  he  and  General  Butler  rallied  the  men,  and  once  more 
formed  them  behind  the  entrenchments  that  \ve  had  taken  in 
the  previous  charge.  There  was  realh7  no  forming  to  do  except 
to  halt  them,  as  they  had  fallen  back  in  good  order.  General 
Butler  left  us  at  this  place,  and  I  next  saw  him  a  few  minutes 
afterwards  out  in  the  open  field,  in  rear  of  and  seeming  to  be 
superintending  the  fire  of  Hart's  battery,  that  had  moved  up 
directly  in  rear  of  our  line,  and  was  hotly  engaged.  We  held 
this  position  for  a  long  time,  and  whilst  there,  sitting  on  his 
horse,  a  minnie  bullet  passed  between  Colonel  Stokes'  leg  and  the 
stirrup  leather,  grazing  the  leg,  I  believe.  I  saw  him  jerk  his 
leg  up,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  hit,  and  he  told  me  what  had 
happened.  After  we  had  held  the  position  for  I  think  at  least 
an  hour,  Colonel  Stokes  said  to  me,  "I  never  had  command  of  a 
brigade  before,  and  I  don't  know  what  to  do  in  here.  I  will  go 
back  and  ask  General  Butler  what  he  wants  us  to  do,  come  with 
me."  I  followed  him  across  the  field,  as  he  rode  to  where  the 
general  was  immediately  behind  the  battery,  and  when  we  got  to 
him  the  colonel  asked  him  what  he  wanted  done.  The  general 
answered,  "Nothing  just  now,  only  to  hold  our  position.  I  have 
just  heard  from  General  Hampton  and  he  says  th-it  he  has  sent 
W.  H.  F.  Lee's  division  to  reinforce  us.  As  soon  as  they  come  we 
will  take  that  place  over  yonder."  Just  at  this  moment  I  hap 
pened  to  look  back  to  the  edge  of  the  timber  on  the  right  from 
which  the  colonel  and  I  had  just  come,  and  saw  the  men  break 
ing  from  the  line,  some  of  them  had  gotten  at  least  100  yards  in 
the  rear.  I  instantly  called  out,  "Colonel,  look  at  the  line, 
the  men  are  breaking."  Stokes  whirled  around  and  dashed  back 
towards  them,  and  Butler  caught  me  by  the  arm  and  said,  "Go 
run  down  yonder  to  those  leading  men  and  stop  'em,  I  will  be 
there  as  soon  as  I  can  to  stop  any  more  breaking."  I  rode  at 
full  speed  to  the  men  and  shouted  to  them  that  General  Butler 
ordered  them  to  the  front  at  once.  There  were  not  more  than 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  333 

12  or  15  in  the  lead  there,  and  they  halted  as  I  spoke  and  all  but 
four  or  five  started  back  to  the  front.  I  rode  up  to  the  few 
that  had  remained  who  were  standing  near  a  big  tree,  and  lying 
down  at  the  foot  of  it  I  saw  an  officer.  I  again  repeated  Butler's 
order  to  the  men  and  told  them  that  reinforcements  were  coming. 
One  one-legged  fellow  said,  "What  do  you  know  about  it?"  I 
told  him  what  I  had  heard  General  Butler  say  a  few  minutes 
before  that  William  Henry  Lee  was  coming  to  reinforce  us,  and 
he  yelled  back,  "Reinforcements ;  hell !  I've  heard  that  cry  until 
I  am  sick  of  it ;  they  always  tell  us  that  reinforcements  are  com 
ing  but  they  never  come."  Just  at  this  time  Gneral  Butler  dashed 
up  with  his  pistol  in  his  hand,  and  his  voice  rang  out,  "Back  to 
the  front,  men."  And  all  the  men  started  back  in  the  double 
quick.  The  officer  lying  behind  the  tree  sprang  to  his  feet,  and 
Butler,  seeing  him,  j^elled  out,  " —  -  wrhat  in  the  hell  are 

you  doing  there ;  go  to  the  front  at  once,  sir."  The  officer  replied, 
"General,  I'll  go  if  the  men  only  will,"  and  as  quick  as  lightning 
came  the  answer,  "The  men  are  already  there,  you  d — d  coward; 
if  you  don't  go  to  the  front,  I'll  blow  your  brains  out  myself," 
and  that  pistol  was  leveled  at  him.  He  made  good  time  getting 
back  towards  the  front,  and  as  he  did  so  the  general  called  to 
him,  "If  you  ever  lead  my  men  off  this  way  again,  I'll  kill  you." 

I  followed  the  general  back  and  found  that  he  and  Colonel 
Stokes  had  restored  the  line.  Some  time  after  this  rally,  per 
haps  an  hour,  we  were  again  ordered  forward,  and  the  men 
succeeded  this  time  in  crossing  the  creek,  and  capturing  the 
works  on  the  other  bank,  but  the  Federals  fell  back  very  deliber 
ately,  and  rallied  and  formed  a  short  distance  in  rear  of  this 
line,  and  from  then  until  night  was  concentrated  upon  us  a  ter 
rible  storm  of  grape-shot,  cannister,  and  minnie  balls. 

The  fire  had  been  pretty  heavy  from  the  time  we  made  our 
first  charge  in  the  forenoon  but  it  was  now  doubled.  Their 
reinforcements  must  have  come  up ;  ours,  as  that  long-legged 
fellow  had  said,  never  did  get  to  us.  The  brigade  was,  however, 
moved  out  to  attack  them  and  again  and  again  gallantly  strove 
to  pierce  their  line,  until  finally  the  men  lay  down  in  the  timber 
between  this  second  line  we  had  taken  from  the  Yankees,  and 
fairly  sulked.  They  would  not  retreat,  but  could  not  break  the 
Yankee  line.  I  saw  Colonel  Stokes  finally  get  off  his  horse 


334  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

and  stand  holding  him  by  the  bridle.  I  at  once  gladly  did 
the  same,  only  to  get  behind  a  big  pine  tree,  to  be  stampeded 
from  it  a  minute  or  two  afterwards  as  a  shelf  cut  in  two  an 
other  one  near  it,  and  it  came  crashing  down  where  it  fell.  I 
got  behind  my  tree  again,  and  in  a  few  minutes  afterwards, 
an  officer,  whose  name  I  do  not  now  remember,  came  crawling 
up  to  me  and  asked  if  I  was  a  courier.  On  my  replying  "Yes," 
he  said,  "Major  Farley  wants  you  to  come  to  him."  I  replied 
I  was  Colonel  Stokes'  courier,  and  looked  around  for  the  colonel, 
but  could  not  see  him,  and  then  I  inquired  where  the  major  was. 
The  officer  pointed  to  a  small  group  of  officers  lying  down  a 
short  distance  from  me,  and  I  went  to  them.  As  I  did  so, 
Farley  raised  up  and  said,  "Courier,  I  wish  you  would  go 
back  to  General  Butler  and  tell  him  the  men  are  doing  no 
good  in  here,  and  I  think  we  ought  to  be  drawn  back  to  the 
works."  I  turned  to  go,  and  as  I  did  so,  Farley  said,  "Stop;  if 
I  send  that  word  to  the  general  he  might  think  I  am  afraid." 
One  of  the  officers  remarked  there  was  no  danger  of  that,  and 
the  little  red-headed  major  made  some  other  remark,  and  then 
I  spoke,  "Major,  I  am  going  to  lie  down,  too;  the  rest  of  you 
all  are,  and  I  am  standing  up."  He  replied,  "Well,  go  out  and 
tell  General  Butler  that  we  are  nearly  out  of  ammunition, 
and  if  he  asks  you  anything  about  what  we  are  doing  here,  you 
can  tell  him  that  you  heard  us  saying  that  we  were  doing  no 
good,  and  so  on."  I  started  off,  leading  my  horse,  until  I  got 
under  the  creek  bank,  where  I  mounted,  and  just  then  I  met 
Colonel  Stokes  and  my  own  captain,  Gregg.  I  informed  the 
colonel  where  I  was  going/  and  repeated  Farley's  conversation, 
and  he  had  just  seen  General  Butler  and  was  coming  from  him 
with  an  order  to  fall  back.  And  then  he  ordered  me  to  go 
to  Major  Farley  and  tell  him  to  have  the  dead  and  wounded 
brought  out,  and  then  fall  back  behind  the  captured  works. 
I  asked  permission  to  go  in  on  foot,  and  it  being  granted  at  once, 
I  dismounted  from  my  horse  and  proceeded  to  tie  him,  when 
from  under  the  bank  came  that  same  officer  whom  Butler  had 
cursed  so  and  said,  "I'll  hold  your  horse  for  you."  Giving  him 
the  halter  rein,  I  went  back  to  Major  Henry  Farley  and  gave 
him  the  order.  This  gallant  officer,  than  whom  there  were  none 
braver,  at  once  started  on  the  line,  ordering  the  men  to  gather 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  335 

the  wounded  and  dead,  and  carry  them  out,  and  T  went  back  to 
Colonel  Stokes.  It  was  about  sundown  then,  and  we  remained 
there  until  the  brigade  began  falling  back,  when  the  colonel. 
Captain  Gregg  and  myself,  mounted  and  rode  back  across  the 
creek,  Avhere  the  command  was  halted  for  an  hour  or  two,  and 
then  long  after  dark  we  were  moved  back  and  went  into  camp. 
It  had  begun  to  mist  by  this  time,  and  I  tied  my  horse  and, 
stumbling  around  for  some  dry  spot,  I  came  across  a  wide 
plank,  and  thinking  that  I  would  rest  a  little  before  I  hunted 
up  food  for  myself  and  horse,  I  stretched  out  upon  this  plank, 
and  the  next  time  I  knew  anything  the  sun  was  shining  in  my 
face.  I  had  slept  all  night  in  the  rain  (it  was  a  light  one, 
though),  without  blanket  or  other  covering,  and  my  poor  horse 
was  standing  tied  close  to  me  with  the  saddle  on.  I  got  up  as 
quickly  as  I  could,  and  found  old  Company  "B"  in  camp  near 
where  I  was.  I  soon  got  provender  for  my  horse  and  then  some 
hard  tack  and  pork  for  myself.  But  I  was  so  stiff  from  being 
in  the  saddle  all  the  day  before  that  I  could  scarcely  walk. 

Our  greatest  loss  that  day  was  General  Dunovant,  a  brave, 
gallant  soldier.  He  died  leading  a  charge  that  I  believe  would 
have  been  preeminently  successful  had  he  not  fallen.  I  have 
heard  him  since  styled  as  rash  for  urging  this  charge,  but  the 
cool  and  impassive  Butler  gave  him  permission,  and  we  subse 
quently  succeeded  in  carrying  with  the  same  men  the  position 
that  we  then  were  charging  when  he  fell,  and  from  the  increase 
in  the  enemy's  fire  I  have  always  believed  that  subsequent  to 
Dunovant's  death  and  prior  to  our  last  successful  charge,  they 
had  been  heavily  reinforced.  I  was  told  that  his  body  was 
sent  back  to  old  Chester,  S.  C.,  the  next  day,  and  I  for  one 
think  that  when  so  many  monuments  are  being  erected  for  our 
honored  dead,  Butler's  brigade  should  have  one  erected  over 
Dunovant's  grave  if  South  Carolina  will  not.  Were  I  yet  living 
in  the  Palmetto  State  I  would  try  to  get  up  a  subscription  for 
it.  Will  not  some  of  those  "bulls  of  Butler's"  that  bellowed  so 
that  day  undertake  it? 

Before  I  conclude  this  narrative  I  wish  to  pay  a  fitting 
tribute  to  Dr.  Charles  Buckhalter,  a  former  private  in  our 
company,  but  on  that  1st  day  of  October,  1864,  an  assistant 
surgeon  to  our  brigade.  When  the  first  charge  was  made  upon 


336  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  enemy's  first  line  that  day,  I  saw  Charlie  Buckhalter  gallop 
over  the  field  under  fire,  dismount  from  his  horse  to  attend 
to  a  wounded  man,  and  he  made  his  litter  corps  come  promptly 
to  the  ground  to  carry  off  the  wounded. 

I  have  neither  seen  nor  heard  of  him  since  the  surrender, 
and  I  do  not  know  whether  he  is  living  or  not,  but  I  feel  that 
a  narrative  of  the  day's  fight  would  not  be  complete  without 
this  statement  of  his  heroism,  and  if  he  is  dead,  his  memory 
should  not  be  forgotten  whilst  one  of  Butler's  brigade  lives. 

I  have  said  nothing  about  the  conduct  of  any  other  command 
on  that  day  (except  Young's  in  the  morning)  because  I  know 
nothing  personally  of  what  they  did.  We  know  that  they  had 
hard  fighting.  Indeed,  I  learned  afterwards  that  the  reason 
why  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee  failed  to  reinforce  us  was  because 
he  had  all  the  fighting  he  could  attend  to  where  he  was,  and 
would  have  been  glad  to  get  reinforcements  himself. 

I  have  never  seen  a  report  of  the  conduct  of  the  brigade 
in  this  fight,  nor  do  I  believe  that  one  was  ever  made,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  our  brigadier  was  killed,  and  the  command  then 
devolved  upon  Lieu  tenant- Colonel  Stokes,  who  was  superseded, 
I  believe,  on  the  next  day  by  Colonel  Rutledge,  who  arrived 
and  took  command,  and  the  continual  fighting,  etc.,  that  we 
were  engaged  in  from  that  time  to  the  surrender  left  but  little 
time  for  reports.  Therefore,  I  have  written  this  statement  in 
order  that  the  brave  conduct  of  a  gallant  brigade  and  the 
heroic  death  of  its  general  might  not  be  forgotten. 

That  day  was  my  first  experience  as  a  courier  on  a  battlefield, 
and  I  learned  that  a  courier  in  such  a  position  has  by  no  means 
a  bomb-proof. 

CHARLES  MONTAGUE, 
Company  "B,"  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry. 

Bandera,  Texas. 

There  was  not  a  better  soldier  in  Dunovant's  brigade  than  the 
writer  of  the  above. 

In  this  fight  General  Butler  was  wearing  a  raincoat  which  was 
perforated  by  four  minnie  balls,  one  on  either  side  of  his  body 
and  one  through  each  sleeve — a  dark,  dismal,  rainy  day.  When 
General  Dunovant  was  shot,  Dr.  Fontaine  immediately  started  to 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  337 

him  and  was  himself  shot.  Dr.  Taylor,  with  his  usual  fearlessness, 
braved  the  danger  and  when  he  reached  them  found  both  dead. 

General  Lee,  in  a  letter  to  General  Hampton,  writes :  "I  grieve 
with  you  at  the  loss  of  General  Dunovant  and  Dr.  Fontaine,  two 
officers  whom  it  will  be  difficult  to  replace." 

Lieutenant  A.  P.  Butler  was  a  son  of  Governor  Pierce  Mason 
Butler  who  was  killed  at  Churubusco,  Mexico,  leading  the  Pal 
metto  regiment,  20th  August,  1847. 

Lieutenant  Pick  Butler,  wrho  was  named  for  his  uncle,  Judge 
Butler,  was  very  tall  and  slim.  There  lived  in  Edgefield,  S.  C., 
before  the  war  a  good  old  Methodist  preacher  by  the  name  of 
Mr.  Pickett.  who  was  just  the  opposite  to  Pick  Butler.  Very 
short  but  with  an  immense  corporation.  He  said  to  Pick  Butler : 
"Pick,  w;hy  are  you  so  tall,"  and  he  replied,  "Well,  Mr.  Pickett, 
if  you  were  hammered  out  like  me  you  would  be  the  tallest." 

The  night  Lieutenant  Butler  was  captured  he  was  riding,  a 
bobtailed  bay  horse,  and  of  course  his  name  was  "Bob."  The 
Yankees  said  that  they  had  captured  "Butler's  Tower,"  meaning 
a  tower  built  by  their  general,  B.  F.  Butler  of  New  Orleans 
fame,  sometimes  called  Beast  and  Spoons  Butler.  The  only  time 
that  Senator  Hoar  was  ever  heard  to  curse  wrhile  in  the  United 
States  Senate  was  when  he  told  General  M.  C.  Butler  that  old 
B.  F.  Butler  of  Massachusetts  was  the  d — dst  liar  in  the  United 
States 

One  of  the  gamest  men  I  have  ever  seen  in  battle  was  Major 
Hugh  Farley,  late  Adjutant  and  Inspector-General  of  South 
Carolina.  On  the  27th  October.  1864,  at  the  battle  of  Burgess' 
Mill  he  rode  over  the  field  seemingly  as  unconcerned  as  though 
he  was  looking  at  a  plantation.  He  was  a  splendid  soldier  and 
was  a  brother  to  Major  Henry  Farley,  who  commanded  General 
Dunovant's  dismounted  men — men  who  had  lost  their  horse» 
and  acted  as  infantry — until  they  could  get  remounts. 

A  member  of  the  First  New  Jersey  cavalry  petitionel  Congress 
for  a  medal,  claiming  that  he  had  killed  General  Dunovant,  and 
of  course  he  got  the  medal.  Colonel  Kester  commanded  this 
regiment,  which  was  as  good  as  any  cavalry  regiment  in  the 
Yankee  army,  but  I  do  not  understand  how  a  man  could  claim 
that  he  had  killed  the  general  when  at  least  a  thousand  guns  were 
fired  at  him  perhaps  at  the  same  time,  but  I  suppose  the  ma- 

22 — B.  c. 


338  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

jority  of  the  Congressmen  thought  he  ought  to  have  been  killed 
and  some  one  should  be  rewarded  for  it  with  a  medal  because 
he  was  killed.  :.•• 

General  Dunovant  owned  two  beautiful  sorrel  horses  and  a 
negro  named  Monroe,  and  frequently  the  couriers  Vould  give 
Monroe  a  pass  to  go  out  foraging,  and  he  being  slick  of  hand 
and  tongue,  would  always  return  with  something.  On  the  23rd 
September,  1864,  Postell  Mood  wrote  a  pass  and  started  Monroe 
off  that  night  for  "apple  jack"  and  anything  else  he  could  con 
veniently  pick  up.  We  sat  up  listening  to  the  firing  of  the  infantry 
in  the  trenches  and  hoping  Monroe  would  soon  return,  but  as 
yet  no  Monroe.  Of  course  he  rode  the  horse  into  the  Yankee's 
lines.  When  the  general  was  killed  his  horse  continued  his 
course  into  the  lines  of  the  enemy. 

When  the  Yankees  captured  Captain  Pick  Butler  on  the  night 
of  the  30th,  just  before  the  capture  General  Dunovant  expressed 
himself  in  no  uncertain  terms  to  them,  and  of  course  they  were 
very  much  excited.  The  sergeant  in  command  kept  saying  "Halt," 
"Halt,"  and  those  of  his  men  who  were  Americans  began  to  say 
"Halt" like  he  did,  and  a  little  Dutchman  would  say"Sthand  stheel, 
I  shoot,"  and  when  the  sergeant  gave  the  command  to  fire,  the 
Dutchman  being  just  behind  him,  fired  and  the  bullet  went 
crashing  through  the  sergeant's  head,  and  that  was  why  Charlie 
Montague  could  not  wear  the  fellow's  hat  the  next  day,  as  it 
was  too  bloody.  When  the  guns  flashed,  my  horse  reared  and  a 
bullet  went  through  my  hat,  taking  a  quantity  of  hair  with  it. 

Lieu  tenant- Colonel  L.  P.  Miller,  of  the  Sixth  South  Carolina 
cavalry,  was  thrown  from  his  horse,  his  foot  hung  in  the  stirrup, 
and  but  for  a  peach  tree  that  his  horse  dragged  him  up  against, 
which  broke  the  stirrup  leather  and  released  him,  he  would  have 
died  a  miserable  death. 

Early  the  next  morning,  1st  October,  a  prisoner  was  brought 
to  headquarters.  He  was  about  21  years  old,  red-headed,  freck 
led-faced  and  was  not  handsome,  and  I  immediately  proposed  to 
trade  hats  with  him,  and  he  said:  "Where  is  yours?"  I  said, 
"You  shot  it  off  last  night."  We  traded. 

About  4  o'clock  P.  M.  General  Dunovant  told  me  to  go  back 
to  camp.  I  said,  "Why,  General,"  and  he  replied,  "Suppose  we 
are  both  killed,  who  will  take  care  of  us."  Did  he  expect  to  be 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  339 

killed?  I  think  so.  Just  as  I  had  reached  the  camp  and  had 
unsaddled  my  horse  Press  Burch  rode  up  hurriedly  on  his  beau 
tiful  little  roan  mare  and  said,  "The  general  is  killed."  I  imme 
diately  returned  to  the  battle  field  and  brought  his  remains  to 
camp.  The  next  day  General  Butler  started  me  for  Chester, 
S.  C.,  with  the  general's  body,  where  it  lies  today  at  the  home  of 
his  birth.  No  braver  man  ever  filled  a  soldier's  grave. 

"The  world  shall  yet  decide, 

In  truth's  clear,  far-off  light, 
That  the  soldiers  who  wore  the  gray,  and  died 
With  Lee,  were  in  the  right." 


Ocala,  Fla.,  September  12th,  1908. 

Dear  Brooks:  Please  pardon  my  remissness  in  not  complying 
before  this  with  your  request  for  a  brief  history  of  my  connection 
with  the  dismounted  battalion  of  Butler's  Cavalry  brigade  in 
Virginia. 

Your  request  brings  up  one  of  the  most  unpleasant  episodes 
of  my  military  life,  but  possibly  it  is  a  duty  which  I  owe  myself 
that  the  task  should  be  performed.  I  often  look  with  wonder 
at  that  class  of  people  who  appear  to  take  pleasure  in  nursing 
their  griefs.  Even  now,  with  all  the  years  gone  by  since  our 
fruitless  struggle  for  what  our  people  believed  to  be  right,  when 
memory  recalls  the  incidents  of  that  horrible  four  JQSLTS  of  war 
with  its  fearful  carnage,  I  cannot  keep  down  the  aches  in  my 
heart,  and  the  tears  from  my  eyes,  which  make  me  almost 
ashamed  of  my  manhood,  when  I  meet  those  of  my  companions 
who  are  yet  numbered  among  the  living.  Memory  carries  me 
back  to  my  connection  with  the  Sixth  South  Carolina  cavalry, 
when  as  its  adjutant,  lieutenant-colonel  and  colonel,  I  strove  to 
make  of  the  magnificent  material  I  found  ready  to  my  hand, 
a  regiment  of  soldiers  perfect  in  all  the  duties  belonging  to  a 
military  service.  It  is  hard  for  me  to  think  that  in  proportion 
as  they  were  made  efficient,  that  in  proportion  as  their  fighting 
lines  corresponded  to  the  morning  reports  for  duty,  they  fur 
nished  food  for  shot  and  shell.  But  such  is  war. 

With  the  exception  of  Robert  Aldrich,  I  am  the  only  one  left 
of  the  regimental  field  and  staff  captains  and  lieutenants  except 


COLONEL    L.    P.    MILLER 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  341 

Lieutenants  Minis,  Sullivan,  John  Bauskett  and  John  Kennerly, 
almost  all  on  the  other  side  of  the  river;  each  year  brings  me 
nearer  to  its  banks.  Sometimes,  in  imagination,  I  can  almost 
hear  the  ripple  of  its  waters  as  it  hurries  on  to  the  sea. 

If  it  were  germain  to  the  matter  in  hand,  I  would  like  to  tell 
of  the  soldierly  deed  of  gallant  Captain  Mose  Humphrey,  Troop 
F,  who  always  went  to  the  firing  line  with  a  glory  on  his  face, 
but  who,  poor  fellow,  died  from  his  wounds  received  the  morning 
we  charged  Kilpatrick's  camp.  I  see  Lieutenants  Minis,  Sulli 
van,  John  Kennerly,  John  Bauskett  and  a  lot  of  others,  deport 
ing  themselves  most  gallantly.  I  can  never  forget  the  blue  hen's 
chickens,  the  Shipman  boys,  Ben  and  Harmon,  and  Shaft  Moses, 
and  Shands  of  C  Troop,  and  Cameron  of  Whitner's  Troop,  ana 
little  Jackson,  who  ran  away  from  home  twice  to  join  the  regi 
ment.  Xo  man  ever  had  a  trio  of  finer  soldiers  than  the  young 
fellows  I  had  at  my  headquarters  for  special  service — Belton 
Orchard,  Charles  Montague  and  -  -  Bolt,  obedient,  good  tem 
pered,  perfectly  fearless,  unselfish,  they  were  as  near  perfection 
as  soldiers  as  men  ever  get  to  be.  I  would  like  to  place  crowns 
of  laurels  on  the  graves  of  Sergeant-Ma j or  Oscar  Sheppard  and 
Ben  Shipman.  Sheppard,  as  you  know,  was  killed  at  Trevillian, 
and  they  tell  me  that  Shipman,  who  succeeded  Sheppard  as 
sergeant-major,  died  after  the  war  from  the  effects  of  his  wounds. 
But,  my  dear  Brooks,  I  feel  as  if  I  am  fighting  shy  of  my  sub 
ject,  the  dismounted  battalion. 

A  short  time  before  the  fight  at  Trevillian,  I  was  ordered  to 
report  at  General  Butler's  headquarters.  "Colonel  Miller,"  the 
general  said,  "I  am  going  to  give  you  a  very  unpleasant  assign 
ment.  I  wish  you  to  take  charge  of  the  dead  line  camp  of  the 
brigade,  which  you  will  find  near  Richmond,  on  the  Brooks  turn 
pike,  and  break  it  up."  In  reply  to  my  pleadings  not  to  be  taken 
from  the  regiment,  he  said:  "No,  from  what  General  Hagooc*: 
told  me,  you  are  the  man  for  the  job;  the  camp  is  a  discredit  to 
the  service,  and  I  am  sick  and  tired  of  the  complaints  as  to  the 
depredations  of  the  men  and  negroes  belonging  to  it.  I  will 
promise  to  relieve  you  as  soon  as  practicable,  and  will  at  some 
future  time  show  my  appreciation  of  your  service  by  giving  you 
a  more  pleasant  task."  I  carried  out  my  orders,  but  went  back 
to  the  regiment  after  Colonel  Aiken  was  wounded  at  Trevillian, 


342  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  most  fearfully  abused  man  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia.  I  will  say  here,  however,  as  a  set  off,  that  some  months 
after,  while  at  General  Hampton's  headquarters,  Major  McClel- 
lan,  chief  of  staff  of  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  army,  said :  "When 
I  inspected  your  camp  I  found  it  such  a  model  of  efficiency  and 
discipline  that  I  recommended  that  you  be  placed  in  general 
charge  of  the  dead  line  camp  of  the  cavalry."  I  told  him  while 
it  was  pleasant  to  hear  his  commendation,  I  was  glad  his  recom 
mendation  had  not  been  agreed  to.  He  laughed  and  said: 
''Generals  Hampton  and  Butler  would  not  hear  to  it." 

A  brief  history  of  my  efforts  to  carry  out  my  instructions  may 
possibly  translate  this  tangle  of  commendation  and  condemna 
tion.  The  camp  was  found  at  the  point  indicated.  It  was  a  mess. 
I  found  almost  as  many  men  here  as  were  at  the  front,  as  many 
negroes  as  there  were  soldiers,  and  a  sprinkling  of  officers  who 
did  not  belong  to  the  detail,  not  able  for  active  service,  but  not 
sick  enough  to  go  to  the  hospital.  The  horses  of  the  enlisted 
men  were  in  a  sorry  plight  from  want  of  care,  constant  riding 
over  the  country,  and  from  the  long  march  from  South  Carolina 
by  road.  So  much  for  the  component  parts  of  the  camp.  I  found 
the  men  carrying  their  horses  to  the  clover  fields,  turning  them 
loose  to  trample  very  much  more  than  they  could  consume,  and 
their  masters  and  the  darkies,  some  mounted  and  some  on  foot, 
scattering  over  the  country.  The  conditions  were  depressing.  I 
was  confronted  by  my  orders  to  break  this  camp  up,  and  the 
consciousness  of  the  odium  to  be  incurred  in  doing  it.  A  large 
portion  of  the  soldiers  in  the  camp  were  gentlemen,  respected 
at  home,  and  worthy  of  tli9  high  regard  of  their  officers;  they 
were  the  victims  of  circumstances  and  the  bad  men  in  the  camp. 
But  I  soon  saw  there  was  no  alternative.  These  men,  good  and 
bad,  had  to  be  organized  into  a  dismounted  battalion  and  sent 
to  the  front.  The  officers  who  did  not  belong  to  the  detail  had 
to  be  ordered  to  report  to  their  commands  or  go  to  the  hospital ; 
and  that  the  darkies  had  to  have  the  knowledge  thrashed  into 
them  that  they  had  to  obey  orders.  I  wrote  to  General  Butler 
to  this  effect  and  requested  him,  if  he  could  spare  them,  to  send 
me  a  small  detail  of  men  from  the  front  with  good  horses, 
which,  with  the  selections  I  would  make  from  the  men  in  the 
camp,  would  take  care  of  the  horses  and  forward  them  to  their 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  343 

owners  as  soon  as  deemed  serviceable.  General  Butler  approved; 
the  dismounted  battalion  was  sent  to  the  front  and  order  reigned 
in  place  of  chaos. 

I  cannot  close  this  communication  without  thanking  General 
Butler  for  his  kind  consideration,  which  at  the  time  I  did  not 
express.  Immediately  after  my  return  to  the  front,  he  issued 
an  order  placing  me  in  charge  of  the  drill  and  instruction  of  the 
officers  of  the  brigade.  I  felt  then  that  it  was  a  delicate  way  of 
expressing  his  appreciation  of  my  efforts  to  carry  out  his  orders, 
for  I  knew  full  well  that  with  the  active  campaign  in  which  we 
were  engaged,  there  was  little  time  for  anything  else  but  fighting. 
With  high  regards, 

Very  truly  yours, 

L.  P.  MILLER, 
Colonel  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry. 

P.  S. — If  time  permits,  I  will  send  you,  as  requested,  a  brief 
account  of  the  distinguished  gallantry  of  Belton  Orchard  the 
night  before  General  Dunovant  was  killed.  L.  P.  M. 


344  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


BUTLER'S  NIGHT  MARCH 

Ocala,  Fla.,  September  20,  1908. 

Dear  Brooks :  In  complying  with  your  request,  a  lot  of  gallant 
young  fellows  come  trooping  up  before  me.  Lieutenant  Nettles, 
who  was  killed;  the  Aldrich  boys,  Alfred  and  Robert;  the 
Doziers,  etc.;  Dargan,  who  filled  Ben  Shipman's  place  as  ser 
geant-major  when  Shipman  was  wounded;  the  Sullivans,  John 
and  -  — ,  of  Company  A;  Campbell,  of  Whitner's  com 

pany,  yourself,  Beckwith,  of  Company  G,  and  others  worthy 
of  mention.  With  a  thousand  of  such  men  a  commander  could 
tackle  almost  any  odds. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  give  a  brief  statement  of  the  series 
of  happenings  which  led  up  to  the  events  before  us.  With 
General  Bearing's  North  Carolina  brigade,  we  had  been  fighting 
nearly  all  day  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Vaughn  road,  south  of 
Petersburg.  As  night  approached,  our  lines  were  withdrawn 
and  we  were  ordered  into  camp,  and  the  guard  detail  established. 
As  I  sat  talking  with  some  of  my  officers,  memory  brought  up 
the  sad  fate  of  a  dear  friend  and  schoolmate  of  mine,  Lieutenant 
William  Allen  of  Charleston.  When  his  regiment,  Twenty-third 
South  Carolina,  was  ordered  to  Virginia,  he  handed  me  some 
of  his  personal  belongings,  saying:  "I  know  I  will  never  come 
back  home  and  I  do  not  wish  strangers  to  have  these  things." 
He  was  killed  in  the  first  fight  after  his  regiment  arrived,  and 
his  body  was  not  recovered.  Thinking  of  this,  I  remarked  that 
''Premonitions  are  not  always  verified.  Today  is  the  first  time 
I  ever  felt  I  was  going  to  be  killed  before  it  closed,  yet,  here 
I  am  alive." 

While  I  was  talking,  the  bugle  at  brigade  headquarters  called 
"boots  and  saddles."  Orders  from  General  Dunovont  followed, 
"Sixth  South  Carolina  in  front  to  go  to  Armstrong's  mill." 
Armstrong's  mill  consisted  of  a  small  settlement,  and  a  very 
large  dwelling  house  on  high  pillars  with  a  ten-rail  worm  fence, 
staked  and  ridered,  quite  near,  and  along  a  road  which  came 
from  the  direction  where  we  had  been  fighting  during  the  day. 
Our  course  would  strike  this  road  at  right  angles  at  the  house, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  345 

and  would  have  an  extensive  new-ground  clearing  on  its  left.  The 
column,  by  fours,  was  soon  formed,  and  put  in  motion,  with  no 
advance  guard,  but  with  the  camp  guard  and  General  Dunovant 
with  his  staff  immediately  in  front  of  the  Sixth.  I  could  not 
help  remarking  to  Lieutenant  Kennerly,  who  was  acting  adjutant 
for  me  at  the  time,  as  to  the  queerness  of  the  disposition.  I  knew 
that  a  camp  guard,  as  it  was  usually  detailed,  was  not  a  unit,  and 
in  an  emergency  would  be  almost  worthless  as  a  fighting  force. 
When  the  brigade  was  almost  at  the  fence,  a  sharp  command 
rang  out,  "Halt,"  and  immediately  after,  "Whose  command  do 
you  belong  to?"  I  turned  to  Kennerly  and  said,  "John,  we  are 
up  against  the  Yanks."  "How  do  you  knoAv?"  he  asked.  "Why, 
that  fellow  talks  through  his  nose;  go  back  and  warn  the  squad 
ron  commanders  to  hold  their  men  steady  no  matter  what  hap 
pens,  and  to  extend  the  same  orders  to  their  troop  commanders." 
The  night  was  black,  a  misty  rain  was  falling,  the  files  in  front 
could  hardly  be  distinguished,  there  was  a  dead  calm;  one  could 
almost  hear  a  leaf  falling  to  the  ground.  The  column  stood 
motionless,  in  anxious  expectation.  General  Dunovant,  after  a 
moment's  hesitation,  replied:  "Dunovant's  brigade."  "Duno 
vant 's  brigade  is  it,  I  do  not  know  you.  Dismount  one  and  give 
the  countersign."  Captain  Pick  Butler  of  the  staff  was  then 
ordered  to  go  forward  and  comply  with  the  command,  but  Pick 
had  no  Yankee  countersign,  and  knew  full  well  that  he  was 
going  into  the  hands  of  the  Phillistines  and  to  Yankee  prison, 
and  Pick  was  slow.  The  officer  became  impatient  and  he  again 
ordered,  "Dismount  one  and  give  the  countersign,  or  I  will  fire 
into  you."  General  Dunovant,  provoked  at  Pick's  tardiness,  said : 
"Captain  Butler,  are  you  going  to  obey  my  orders,  or  shall  I 
attend  to  it."  Pick  replied,  "I  am  going  to,"  but  the  poor  fellow 
still  moved  slowly.  Fortunately  for  us  Pick,  in  approaching  the 
enemy,  went  to  the  left  of  the  column.  The  officer  again  shouted, 
as  he  heard  the  sound  of  Pick's  horse's  feet,  "Dismount  I  say, 
or  I  will  fire  into  you."  Captain  Butler  is  about  seven  feet  tall. 
Serious  as  the  time  was,  I  could  not  help  laughing  at  his  reply : 
"I  am  dismounted.  I  am  a  very  tall  man,  and  I  am  leading  my 
horse."  After  a  short  colloquy.  I  heard  the  officer  say:  "They 
are  damn  rebels,"  and  then,  lining  up  his  command,  came  the 
order,  "Ready,  aim,  fire."  Poor  Pick,  the  last  I  heard  of  him, 


346  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  Yankees  had  taken  his  hat  and  fine  boots,  and  were  marching 
him  to  City  Point,  but  even  in  his  trial  and  tribulation  he  showed 
his  good  road  sense  by  going  out  from  the  left  of  the  column, 
and  thus  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  drawing  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  away  from  his  people.  Not  a  man  on  our  side  was  killed 
or  wounded,  but  I  was  told  that  a  dead  Yankee  was  found  the 
next  day  on  the  left  of  where  the  column  was  standing.  I  was 
sitting  on  my  horse  three  or  four  yards  to  the  left  of  the  head 
of  the  regiment  when  the  order  "fire"  was  given.  Immediately 
after  the  volley,  I  heard  Captain  Zimmerman  Davis,  of  the  Fifth 
South  Carolina,  who  had  been  detailed  from  his  command  for 
special  service  at  brigade  headquarters,  shouting  "Halt!"  "Halt!" 
"Halt!"  and  here  came  pell  mell  the  panic-stricken  camp  guard. 
I  might  as  well  have  tried  to  stem  a  torrent  with  a  straw.  Down 
went  horse  and  rider.  In  trying  to  brace  myself  from  the  shock, 
my  right  foot  had  slipped  between  the  leather  covering  and  the 
stirrup  on  my  army  saddle.  When  my  horse  recovered  his  feet, 
off  he  rushed  across  the  new-ground  field  with  my  body  being 
smashed  to  the  ground  with  every  stride  he  took.  The  premoni 
tion  came  flashing  back,  here  is  death;  what  Avill  become  of  my 
poor  wife  and  child.  When  my  horse  had  run  about  two  hun 
dred  yards,  and  consciousness  was  nearly  gone,  my  foot  was 
wrenched  from  its  boot,  and  with  my  right  leg  almost  out  of  its 
socket,  the  fingers  of  my  right  hand  dislocated,  the  skin  and  hair 
from  the  side  of  my  face  and  head  gone,  was  left  dazed,  battered 
and  bruised,  a  miserable  wreck.  Sitting  on  the  ground  in  this 
condition,  I  heard  some  one  not  far  from  me  calling  "Colonel! 
Oh,  Colonel!"  I  answered,  and  Orchard  rode  up  and  lifted  me 
on  his  horse,  got  up  behind,  and  we  joined  the  command,  which 
I  found  in  perfect  order.  I  asked  Orchard  the  next  day  how  it 
was  he  came  to  find  me.  "I  heard  you  trying  to  stop  the  stam 
peded  guard,  I  heard  the  crash  when  they  struck  your  horse 
immediately  after,  I  called  to  you,  not  being  answered,  I  dis 
mounted,  and  fearing  you  had  been  killed,  I  felt  on  the  ground 
where  I  last  heard  you.  Not  finding  you,  and  remembering  that 
I  heard  a  horse  running,  I  took  the  chances  and  rode  in  the  direc 
tion  of  his  flight."  Thus  it  was  that  the  premonition  that  I  would 
be  killed  that  day  was  not  verified. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  347 

I  have  seen  men  marching  shoulder  to  shoulder  to  almost  cer 
tain  death,  but  in  all  my  experiences,  when  I  consider  the  de 
moralizing  influences  attending  this  act  of  Orchard's,  I  know 
of  no  more  deserving  or  higher  distinction  for  usefulness  and 
gallantry. 

The  Sixth  South  Carolina  stood  like  a  rock.  Had  not  the 
discipline  and  pluck  of  the  regiment  made  them  immune  to  the 
contagions  and  disorder  around  them,  and  they  had  stampeded, 
Butler's  brigade  would  more  than  likely  have  been  broken  to 
flinders  in  the  woods  that  night.  Colonel  Millin's  battalion  of 
cavalry  had  been  stampeded  only  a  short  time  before  by  a  single 
shot  from  one  of  our  own  pickets,  and  had  run  twelve  miles,  horses 
and  men  being  killed  and  wounded  in  the  mad  race.  If  my 
memory  serves  me  rightly  one  of  Wellington's  veteran  divisions, 
during  his  Peninsula  campaigns,  was  stampeded  by  a  drove  of 
eight  cattle.  It  is  difficult  for  even  old  soldiers  to  understand  this 
epidemic  of  fear  which,  at  times,  makes  soldiers  as  uncontrol- 
able  as  wild  cattle.  As  I  lay  on  my  cot  the  day  after  the  inci 
dent  described,  it  was  a  great  comfort  to  think  General  Hagood 
correct  in  his  statement  to  General  Butler. 

General  Butler,  when  we  were  not  fighting  on  our  own  ac 
count,  would  sometimes  ask  me  to  ride  the  lines  with  him.  One 
morning  as  we  passed  the  regiment,  he  was  pleased  to  speak  in 
a  very  pleasant  and  complimentary  way  concerning  it,  and 
wound  up  by  saying:  "Do  you  know,  if  I  had  not  met  General 
Hagood  in  Charleston,  I  would  have  left  your  regiment  in  South 
Carolina;  he  asked  me  which  regiments  I  was  going  to  take 
back  to  Virginia.  I  told  him  the  Third,  Fourth  and  Fifth. 
He  said:  'My  advice  to  you  is  to  take  the  Sixth,  as  it  is  a  fine 
regiment.'  I  replied,  'They  have  the  reputation  in  Virginia  of 
being  a  set  of  wild  Arabs.'  He  said,  'What  they  formerly  were, 
they  are  not  now.  For  the  last  four  or  five  months,  Miller  has 
been  in  command  and  he  has  made  of  them  a  regiment  of  sol 
diers.'  » 

Very  truly  yours, 

L.  P.  MILLER, 
Colonel  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry. 


348  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

904  Devisadero  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Sept.  19,  1908. 
My  Dear  Brooks:  Your  very  kind  favor  of  a  recent  date  re 
ceived.  I  am  very  much  pleased  that  you  consider  that  my  poor 
labors  for  our  dear  country  are  worthy  of  commemoration. 
Kindly  advise  me  what  period  you  would  have  the  sketches  from 
my  pen  embrace.  I  could  begin  with  Brandy  Station  and  follow 
with  the  most  stirring  events  of  my  own  personal  career  if  so 
desired,  or  if  you  would  prefer  it,  confine  myself  to  one  chapter 
as  you  suggested.  Either  would  be  a  tribute  of  love,  and  I  trust 
void  of  vain-gloriousness  of  self,  for,  candidly,  I  am  striving 
hard  to  lay  aside  that  poor  personage.  I  am  convinced  that  this 
life  is  made  up  more  of  sorrow,  trials  and  vicissitudes  than  of 
joy,  and  that  there  is  but  little  in  all  its  struggles  and  ambitions. 
I  am  and  always  was  very  fond  and  proud  of  our  dear  friend, 
General  Butler,  and  have  constantly  associated  him  with  that 
other  dear  friend  of  ours,  our  dearly  beloved  General  Wade 
Hampton.  I  believe  General  Butler  lost  his  leg  at  Brandy  Sta 
tion,  or  was  it  at  Culpeper  Court  House,  or  more  properly  Cul- 
peper  ?  How  I  remember  the  raid  of  Warren  in  the  winter  of 
1864  when  five  men  froze  to  death  on  their  picket  posts.  General 
Butler  was  the  central  figure  everywhere  during  that  trying 
period,  and  by  his  untiring  and  gallant  efforts  Warren  was 
driven  ignominiously  back  from  his  foray  for  booty  and  lust  for 
beauty.  When  near  the  end  of  our  journey,  one  day  about  noon,  we 
called  at  quite  a  pretentious  house  for  our  lunch,  and  as  the  scout 
was  ever  a  welcome  visitor,  we  were  soon  ensconsced  in  easy  chairs 
by  a  crackling  fire  and  were  dreaming  of  the  good  things  shortly 
to  come,  wrhen  one  of  BJLI tier's  men  entered  and  inquired  of  our 
beautiful  young  hostess  if  she  could  send  General  Butler  a  bottle 
of  brandy.  "Certainly,"  she  replied,  and  soon  produced  the  de 
sired  bottle,  and  requested  the  trooper  to  give  her  kind 
regards  to  the  general.  You  know  the  ladies  always  loved 
the  general.  He  bowed  low,  cap  in  hand,  and  he,  too,  said 
"certainly."  I  felt  sure  the  general  would  never  see  that  bottle 
or  taste  that  brandy,  and  he  certainly  did  not,  for  that  night  I 
informed  him  of  the  episode  as  we  reclined  by  the  camp  fire,  and 
the  general,  though  laughing  all  the  while,  said:  "The  scoundrel, 
and  just  to  think  he  used  my  name,  imposed  on  that  young  lady, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  349 

and  never  gave  me  a  drop,  confound  him;  if  I  could  catch  him, 
I'l  make  him  suffer  for  his  villiany." 

When  the  laugh  was  over,  in  which  the  general  joined  as 
heartily  as  any  one,  I  said  to  him,  "General,  you  have  the  ad 
vantage  of  us."  He  answered,  "How?"  I  said,  "You  have  but 
one  foot  to  get  cold  and  we  have  two."  I  should  not  have  said 
it,  but  it  was  a  grim  piece  of  humor  that  the  soldier  seldom  loses. 
He  took  it  good  naturedly  and  simply  smiled  at  the  cork  foot, 
which  was  as  handsomely  booted  and  spurred  as  the  other,  and 
you  know  what  handsome  feet  and  what  a  handsome  man  he 
was.  God  bless  him,  I  loved  him  then,  and  I  love  him  still. 
Kindly  commend  me  to  him  and  assure  him  that  if  by  any  hun> 
ble  effort  of  mine  I  can  add  to  his  glory,  the  labor  will  be  one 
of  love. 

If  you  have  "North  Carolina  Regiments,"  a  recent  history, 
kindly  read  pages  622-627,  Volume  3,  "Hampton's  Beef  Raid." 
If  I  have  transgressed  on  you  thus  before,  pardon  me.  Some 
times  egotism  will  get  the  better  of  us,  and  I  concede  that  I  am 
not  entirely  free  from  it,  profoundly  though  I  pray  to  be  immune 
therefrom.  Kindly  inform  me  how  soon  I  must  get  to  work  and 
how  soon  you  wish  the  picture. 

Lovingly  and  loyally  yours, 

SHADBURNE. 


350  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


BUTLER'S  BRIGADE  IN 

(From  the  Macon  Telegraph,  November,  1807.) 

In  the  spring  of  1864  the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  regiments  of 
South  Carolina  cavalry  were  transferred  from  duty  on  the  sea- 
coast  of  South  Carolina  to  Virginia,  and  constituted  what  was 
thereafter  known  as  "Butler's  Brigade,"  though  subsequently 
commanded  by  Generals  Dunovant,  Law  and  Logan,  and  Colonel 
Hugh  K.  Aiken.  Being  armed  with  Enfield  rifles,  its  chief 
fighting  was  done  on  foot,  and  it  soon  won  for  itself  throughout 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  as  well  as  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  the  soubriquet  of  "that  fighting  cavalry  from  South 
Carolina."  No  doubt  the  character  and  reputation  of  the  brig 
ade  was  due  in  great  measure  to  the  example  and  leadership  of 
two  such  generals  as  M.  C.  Butler  and  Wade  Hampton.  During 
the  spring,  summer  and  fall  of  1864  this  brigade  was  constantly 
engaged  in  active  and  arduous  service,  as  a  reference  to  the  battles 
in  which  it  was  engaged  will  show. 

Beginning  with  Drury's  Bluff,  Chester  Station  and  Atkinson's 
farm,  fought  by  the  Fifth  regiment,  which  served  as  an  infantry 
between  Richmond  and  Petersburg  while  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
the  horses,  and  the  other  regiments  of  the  brigade  from  South 
Carolina,  followed  by  the  battles  of  Charles  City  Court  House, 
Hawes'  Shop  and  Cold  Harbor,  in  May;  Trevillian  Station, 
White  House,  White  Oak  Swamp  and  Riddle's  Shop,  in  June; 
Nance's  Shop  and  Sappony  Church,  in  July;  Gravelly  Run,  in 
August;  Reams'  Station  and  the  Vaughan  road,  in  September, 
and  Cummins's  Farm  and  Burgess'  Mill,  in  October,  besides  in 
numerable  skirmishes,  which,  though  sometimes  unpleasantly  hot, 
did  not  attain  to  the  dignity  or  importance  of  being  mentioned 
as  battles,  and  a  record  is  shown  of  a  pretty  vigorous  campaign. 

This  constant  service  and  fighting  made  fearful  havoc  in  the 
ranks  of  both  men  and  horses.  I  do  not  remember  the  losses  of 
the  other  regiments,  but  my  own  (the  Fifth)  lost  over  400 
officers  and  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  besides  about  50  captured, 
during  the  six  months  above  mentioned.  The  chief  fighting  was 
done  on  foot  with  the  rifle,  but  there  was  not  wanting  the  brilliant 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  351 

dash  and  the  headlong  charge  with  sabre  and  pistol,  the  shock  of 
which  the  enemy  seldom  waited  to  meet.  During  this  campaign 
Butler  had  been  promoted  to  be  major-general  to  command 
Hampton's  division,  and  Colonel  John  Dunovant  of  the  Fifth  to 
the  command  of  the  brigade. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year  Wade  Hampton,  then  lieutenant- 
general,  and  commanding  all  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia,  occupied  with  a  part  of  the  corps  the  extreme  right 
of  Lee's  army.  From  Hatcher's  Kun,  ten  miles  south  of  Peters 
burg,  his  lines  extended  indefinitely  to  Stoney  Creek  and  beyond, 
so  as  to  protect  the  Southside  railroad  and  the  Boydton  plank- 
road,  and  thus  to  keep  open  the  country  from  which  General  Lee 
drew  a  large  part  of  his  supplies.  The  Southside  railroad  was 
one  of  the  main  arteries  by  which  supplies  were  brought  from 
southern  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  repeated  efforts  had 
been  made  by  the  enemy  to  reach  and  destroy  it.  The  first  at-, 
tempt  of  any  strength  was  made  by  the  cavalry  of  Generals 
Wilson  and  Kautz,  which,  however,  was  intercepted  and  literally 
cut  to  pieces  by  Hampton  at  Sappony  Church.  After  this  fre 
quent  attempts  were  made  by  the  enemy  to  dislodge  our  cavalry 
on  the  Vaughan  road,  and  to  cross  the  Boydton  plank-road  in 
order  to  get  possession  of  the  White  Oak  road,  in  the  rear,  upon 
which  they  might  advance  and  destroy  the  Southside  railroad, 
as  well  as  to  endeavor  to  turn  Lee's  right  flank  and  force  him  to 
alter  his  lines  for  the  defense  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  or  to 
evacuate  them  entirely  (which  General  Grant  finally  succeeded  in 
accomplishing  in  April,  1865.) 

One  of  these  demonstrations  was  made  in  force  on  the  morn 
ing  of  October  1,  1864,  but  the  enemy  was  driven  back  from 
several  successive  lines  of  battle  to  Cummins's  farm,  across 
Hatcher's  run.  The  brave  Dunovant  was  killed  by  a  bullet 
through  the  brain  while  leading  his  brigade  in  a  brilliant  charge 
on  that  day.  The  last  and  most  formidable  attempt  to  break  our 
lines  during  that  year  (1864)  occurred  on  the  27th  of  October. 
The  enenw's  force,  as  we  afterwards  learned  from  prisoners,  con 
sisted  of  parts  of  three  army  corps,  numbering  upwards  of  ten 
thousand  men.  They  advanced  b}^  several  roads,  which  necessita 
ted  the  retiring  and  concentration  of  our  cavalry  at  the  junction 
of  the  Boydton  plank-road  and  the  White  Oak  road,  near  Bur- 


352  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

gess'  Mill  on  Hatcher's  Run.  About  3  P.'  M.  Butler's  brigade 
charged,  dismounted,  across  an  open  field  on  the  right  of  White 
Oak  road,  and  drove  the  enemy  back  to  the*  cover  of  a  dense 
pine  thicket  on  the  Boydton  plank-road,  where  their  entire  in 
fantry  was  massed,  while  they  had  placed  several  batteries  of 
artillery  in  position  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  just  beyond  the  thicket, 
and  out  of  view  of  the  battlefield.  Our  line  of  battle  was  halted 
at  the  crest  of  a  small  hill  and  along  a  rail  fence,  only  a  hundred 
yards  or  so  from  the  enemy's  line  of  battle,  and  heavy  and  con 
tinuous  fire  was  kept  up  until  long  after  dark.  During  the 
progress  of  the  battle  General  Butler  dispatched  me  to  the  line 
of  battle  with  an  order  to  the  various  regimental  commanders. 
While  riding  across  the  open  field  I  was  met  by  a  detail  bearing 
the  dead  body  of  Lieutenant- Colonel  Jeffords,  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  Fifth  regiment,  who  had  been  killed  on  the  line  of 
battle.  (I  was  at  this  time  serving  as  A.  A.  A.  and  I.  general 
on  General  Butler's  staff,  but  by  the  death  of  Colonel  Jeffords 
was  promoted  the  next  day  to  the  command  of  the  regiment). 
After  delivering  the  order  of  General  Butler  to  Colonel  Rutledge, 
Major  Ferguson  and  others,  I  was  making  all  the  haste  I  could 
to  get  out  of  a  fire  which  was  uncomfortably  hot  for  one  on  horse 
back,  several  balls  having  passed  through  my  clothing,  when  I 
saw  a  staff  officer,  who  appeared  to  be  riding  to  meet  me,  fall 
from  his  horse.  I  galloped  up  to  see  who  he  was  and  to  render 
assistance,  \vhen  General  Hampton  and  his  staff  rode  up.  We 
all  dismounted  and  General  Hampton,  stooped  over  the  pros 
trate  form,  gently  raised  his  head  and  kissed  him,  saying:  "My 
son,  my  son."  It  was  his  son,  Lieutenant  Preston  Hampton,  his 
aide-de-camp. 

The  little  group  was  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  and  a  volley 
was  fired  at  us,  wounding  four  of  the  party,  one  of 
them  being  Captain  Wade  Hampton,  Jr.,  another  son 
of  our  noble  chief,  who,  having  been  upon  the  staff 
of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  and  reported  for  duty  with  his 
father  upon  the  removal  of  General  Johnston  from  the  command 
at  Atlanta.  I  assisted  Captain  Hampton  to  mount  his  horse,  and 
supported  him  to  where  General  Butler  was  overlooking  the  field 
a  short  distance  to  the  rear,  and  leaving  him  in  General  Butler's 
care,  I  galloped  a  hundred  yards  or  so  further  to  the  rear,  where 


GENERAL   WADE    HAMPTON 


23— B.    C. 


354  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

I  found  a  surgeon  taking  care  of  the  wounded.  Returning  with 
him  at  full  speed,  we  met  General  Hampton  riding  by  the  side  of 
a  spring  wagon,  which  had  been  found  in  a  Tarm  yard  on  the 
field,  and  which  was  being  pulled  out  of  the  line  of  fire  by  some 
of  the  staff  and  couriers.  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor,  the  chief  surgeon  of 
Hampton's  Cavalry  corps,  was  sitting  in  the  wagon  supporting 
the  head  of  Preston  Hampton  upon  his  shoulders,  but  the  gallant 
youth  had  ceased  to  breathe.  General  Hampton  simply  said, 
"Too  late,  doctor,"  and  turning  his  horse,  he  rode  over  to  a  por 
tion  of  the  field  where  Lieutenant  Bamberg  of  Hart's  battery  was 
engaged  with  two  guns  in  an  artillery  duel  with  the  batteries  on 
the  hill  in  the  rear  of  the  pine  thicket,  and  he  directed  their  fire 
until  after  dark,  giving  particular  instructions  as  to  the  number  of 
seconds'  fuse,  and  the  elevation  of  each  gun  at  each  discharge. 
The  accuracy  of  this  fire  was  attested  the  next  morning  as  we 
saw  there  several  exploded  caissons  and  over  twenty  dead  horses. 
It  was  an  ennobling  and  inspiring  sight  to  see  this  grand  hero, 
with  the  kiss  from  the  lips  of  his  dead  son  still  warm  upon  his 
own,  while  the  other  son  was  being  borne  from  the  field  severely 
wounded,  thus  subordinating  parental  affection  to  duty  to  his 
country. 

It  remains  only  to  say  that  owing  to  the  obstinate  resistance 
met  with  at  this  point,  the  enemy  found  that  they  could  not 
succeed  in  reaching  the  railroad,  and  also  fearing  an  attack  the 
next  day  by  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee,  on  their  left  flank,  and  Gen 
eral  Mahone  on  their  right,  they  quietly  and  noiselessly  retreated 
during  the  night. 

This  was  the  last  battle  of  any  consequence  fought  by  the 
cavalry  that  fall,  as  the  roads  soon  became  well-nigh  impassa 
ble,  and  both  armies  went  into  winter  quarters. 

ZIMMERMAN  DAVIS, 
Colonel  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  Butler's  Brigade,  A.  N.  V. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  355 


READ  BEFORE  CAMP  HAMPTON,  3RD  SEPTEM 
BER,  1899 

A  cold,  rainy  day  towards  the  end  of  October  in  the  year  1864, 
Hampton's  cavalry  was  guarding  the  right  wing  of  Lee's  army, 
between  Burgess'  Mill  on  Hatcher's  Kun  and  the  Kowanty.  An 
indescribable  melancholy  which  hangs  over  an  army  when  on 
the  eve  of  battle  betokened  that  something  of  a  grave  and  serious 
character  would  usher  the  27th  of  October  out.  It  was  the 
autumn  time,  the  glorious  forests  of  old  Virginia  for  weeks  back 
had  given  under  its  foliage  a  gentle  resting  place  for  cavalrymen, 
infantrymen  and  artillerymen.  Headquarters  of  generals  had 
been  located  near  farm  houses  or  some  old  "Colonial  home"  full 
of  the  traditions  of  the  "past,"  so  fraught  with  the  spirit  of  an 
cient  and  present  hospitality. 

It  was  the  autumn-time,  when  leaves  gently  fall  and  cover  oft 
in  many  places  the  graves  of  the  unnumbered  and  unlettered 
gallant  dead.  The  oak,  the  hickory  and  elm  had  each  in  turn 
shed  leaves;  all  delicate  and  tender  plants  hid  themselves  away 
until  the  season  came  around  once  again  to  welcome  them  to 
sunlight  and  to  shade.  The  change  of  season  was  upon  us — dull, 
dreary  days  of  danger  and  death,  rested  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.  The  campaign  of  a  short  time  before  had  resulted  in 
sending  General  Phil  Sheridan  and  General  Wilson  to  cover; 
they  had  been  roughly  handled  by  the  corps  of  cavalry  com 
manded  by  General  Wade  Hampton,  and  sought  shelter  under  the 
protection  of  General  U.  S.  Grant  and  his  superb  army,  well 
equipped  and  representing  all  branches  of  a  magnificent  array 
of  men  and  horses,  carbines  and  improved  rifles.  Sabres,  too, 
glittered  along  his  rifled  guns  he  had  near  at  hand  to  shell  towns, 
to  hurl  into  advancing  columns  or  to  cast  over  the  tops  of  trees 
into  the  Confederate  lines — the  fatel  shell 'which,  upon  leaving 
the  gun,  cast  a  circle  or  wreath  of  white  smoke  behind  it,  that 
one  might  trace  thereby  the  death  mission  entrusted  to  it.  It  was 


356  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

a  sturdy  set  of  men,  seemingly  without  end  of  numbers,  and  they 

came 

• 

"Like  the  wolf  on  the  fold, 

And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold. 
And  the  sheen  of  their  spears  was  like  stars  on  the  sea, 
When  the  blue  wave  rolls  nightly  on  deep  Galilee." 

Grant's  plan  of  battle  was  to  drive  Hampton  across  the  South- 
side  railroad,  which,  if  successful,  would  have  forced  General 
Lee  to  evacuate  Petersburg.  His  forces  moved  in  three  columns, 
the  Ninth  corps  on  the  road  to  Hawks,  the  Second  corps  down 
the  Vaughn  road  to  Hatcher's  Eun,  and  the  Fifth  corps  on  a  line 
intermediate  between  the  other  two — parts  of  which  had  to  be 
opened.  Major-General  Parke  was  instructed  to  move  on  the 
presumed  position  of  Hampton's  men,  and,  if  practicable,  drive 
them  out.  Major-General  Warren  supported  General  Parke  and 
Major-General  Hancock  (who  was  called  by  Dan  Dougherty 
"the  superb"),  with  parts  of  the  Second  corps  and  Gregg's  divis 
ion  of  cavalry,  was  ordered  to  cross  Hatcher's  Run  and  to  capture 
the  bridge  at  the  mill  on  the  Boydton  plank-road.  Hampton's 
men  charged  his  line  from  the  woods  to  his  (Hancock's)  right 
and  rear,  and  attacked  him  vigorously,  at  the  same  time  advanc 
ing  on  his  left  and  attacking  Gregg  in  the  rear.  The  fight  was 
in  an  open  field  and  very  sharp  and  severe.  General  Meade,  in 
his  report  of  date  October  28,  1864,  says:  "In  the  Second  corps 
the  losses,  owing  to  the  severe  fighting,  were  believed  to  be  heavy," 
and  regrets  to  report  "that  owing  to  the  want  of  transportation 
and  to  the  character  of  thp  cases,  some  of  the  wounded  were  left 
in  charge  of  surgeons  in  some  houses  on  the  field.  No  return  of 
casualties  has  yet  been  made."  He  might  have  added  that  they 
had  no  time  to  make  out  any  return  of  casualties,  as  they  were 
all  too  busy  getting  back  to  their  former  positions  within  the 
entrenched  lines.  If  this  was  a  victory  for  the  "blue  coats,"  all 
I  have  to  say  is  that  about  three  more  just  like  it  would  have 
demolished  Grant's  entire  arm}7.  Whoever  heard  of  a  victorious 
army  escaping  under  the  cover  of  darkness  and  leaving  their 
dead  and  wounded  on  the  field  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ?  When 
this  fight  occurred  Butler's  division  was  guarding  the  crossing 
of  the  Rowanty.  We  were  encamped  on  the  Quaker  road  some 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  357 

distance  to  the  right  of  the  mill  on  Hatcher's  Run.  General  But 
ler  behaved  with  such  gallantry  on  the  battlefield  at  Reams' 
Station  on  August  25th,  1864,  that  he  was  promoted  to  major- 
general,  and  General  John  Dunovant,  colonel  of  the  Fifth  cav 
alry,  who  for  gallantry  was  promoted  to  brigadier-general,  took 
command  of  General  Butler's  old  brigade  and  was  killed  at  Mc 
Dowell's  farm  on  the  first  day  of  October,  1864,  Avhile  leading 
his  men  to  victory.  Would  it  be  out  of  place  for  me  to  state 
right  here  that  about  twenty  minutes  before  he  led  his  charge, 
he  said  to  me,  after  I  handed  him  a  biscuit  and  a  slice  of  ham: 
"Go  back  to  the  camp  and  remain  there ;  suppose  you  were  killed, 
who  would  take  care  of  me?"  Was  he  forewarned  that  he  was  to 
die  so  soon?  I  did  take  care  of  him.  I  carried  his  remains  to 
Chester,  S.  C.,  where  I  left  all  that  was  mortal  of  this  brave, 
generous  and  chivalrous  man  with  his  brother,  Colonel  Quay 
Dunovant. 

Butler's  division  was  composed  of  Dunovant's  brigade  (which 
was  commanded  by  the  gallant  Colonel  Hugh  Aiken  in  this  fight) 
and  General  Rosser's  Virginia  brigade  and  Young's  Georgia 
brigade.  When  Hancock  opened  the  fight,  just  at  the  break  of 
day,  General  Butler  ordered  me  to  go  at  once  to  the  front  and 
report  the  cause  of  the  firing  immediately  to  him,  and  on  my 
way  back  I  met  a  Confederate  colonel,  who  asked  me  what  the 
trouble  was.  I  told  him  that  the  enemy  were  advancing  in  full 
force.  (See  Mohun,  page  310).  After  leaving  the  colonel  I 
soon  met  General  Butler  and  lost  no  time  in  putting  him  in  pos 
session  of  the  facts.  Hancock's  corps  forced  a  passage  across  the 
Rowanty  and  drove  in  our  pickets.  General  Hampton  ordered 
General  Butler  to  withdraw  and  take  position  higher  up  the 
creek  at  Burgess'  Mill.  The  left  of  Young's  brigade  was  on  the 
extreme  left  of  the  cavalry,  and  rested  on  the  mill  pond,  having 
an  open  old  field  in  our  front.  General  Butler  was  also  directed 
to  move  forward  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  guns  of  General 
Wm.  F.  H.  Lee,  whose  division  was  to  deploy  on  our  right.  While 
awaiting  General  Lee's  attack  we  had  thrown  up  temporary 
breastworks  of  fence  rails,  logs  and  such  material  as  we  could 
get.  Hart's  grand  old  battery  of  horse  artillery  was  stationed 
by  General  Butler  along  our  line  with  guns  commanding  the  field 
in  front;  this  was  after  the  gallant  Major  Hart  lost  his  leg  about 


358  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

12  M.,  but  as  usual  Gunner  Bamberg  and  Gunner  Verdier  were 
at  their  guns.  This  gallant  old  battery  covered  itself  with  glory. 
Gunner  Bamberg  is  now  the  retired  merchant,  General  Bamberg, 
at  Bamberg,  S.  C.,  and  Gunner  Verdier  is  none  other  than  the 
Hon.  W.  J.  Verdier,  the  distinguished  lawyer  at  Beaufort,  S.  C. 

At  the  signal  I  was  sent  by  General  Butler  to  tell  the  gallant 
Colonel  Jeffords  to  move  forward  the  entire  line.  As  soon  as 
Colonel  Jeffords  gave  the  command  to  forward  he  was  shot 
down  and  died  instantly.  His  remains  now  rest  in  Magnolia 
cemetery  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  General  Butler  "fought  the  devil 
with  fire"  by  dismounting  the  men,  and  they  fought  like  devils, 
and  attacked  a  division  of  Federal  infantry  stationed  in  the 
woods,  and  in  the  old  field  in  our  front.  The  firing  was  terrible. 
As  soon  as  General  Butler  gave  the  command  the  whole  brigade 
bounded  over  the  breastworks  and  advanced,  firing;  the  artillery 
at  the  same  time  firing  over  their  heads  with  rapidity  and  effect. 
General  Butler's  headquarters  were  at  the  corner  of  Burgess' 
garden,  near  where  two  guns  of  the  battery  were  posted.  Major 
Barker,  adjutant-general  of  Hampton's  old  division — Butler's 
then — was  with  General  Butler  that  day.  He  missed  Major 
Barker  and  Captain  Nat  Butler  from  his  side,  and  looking  across 
the  garden  to  his  right  he  saw  these  two  and  Preston  Hampton 
riding  in  the  midst  of  the  line  of  advancing  men,  waving  their 
hats  and  cheering  them  on.  They  were  perhaps  a  hundred  yards 
to  his  right  and  the  heavy  firing  prevented  their  hearing  him. 
General  Butler  waved  his  hand  to  them  and  Nat  Butler  spurred 
his  horse  around  in  front  of  the  garden,  and  looked  so  handsome 
"with  long,  dark  brown  hair  and  a  rosy  mouth,  and  eyes  like  the 
blue  heavens  in  a  night  of  frost."  Preston  Hampton  turned  to 
return  to  his  father,  whose  headquarters  wTere  a  hundred  yards 
to  the  right  and  rear,  and  as  he  turned  off  in  one  direction  and 
Nat  to  the  other,  he  called  out,  "Hurrah,  Nat,"  and  almost  in 
stantly  was  shot  in  the  groin  and  mortally  wounded.  I  rushed 
up  to  where  he  was,  and  soon  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor  was  at  his  side 
to  alleviate  his  pain,  but  alas  too  late;  his  young  life  blood  had 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  359 

gone,  and  thus  ended  the  career  of  this,  one  of  the  bravest  of 
the  brave  young  men,  who  died  so  gloriously  for  our  Lost  Cause. 

"Do  we  weep  for  the  heroes  who  died  for  us, 
Who,  living,  were  true  and  tried  for  us, 
And  dying,  sleep  side  by  side  for  us, 

The  martyr  band, 

That  hallowed  our  land, 
With  the  blood  they  shed  in  a  tide  for  us?" 

I  learned  right  here  my  first  great  lesson  of  life  from  General 
Hampton,  which  is  self-control.  When  he  saw  his  dying  son 
lying  on  the  ground  he  dismounted  and  kissed  his  brave  boy, 
wiped  a  tear  from  his  eye,  remounted  and  went  on  giving  orders 
as  though  nothing  had  happened.  How  can  we  control  others  if 
we  do  not  control  ourselves?  General  Butler  rode  up  to  this 
group  and  asked  General  Hampton  who  had  been  wounded,  and 
with  an  agony  of  expression  he  replied:  "Poor  Preston  has  been 
mortally  wounded."  General  Butler  ordered  a  one-horse  wagon 
near  by  brought  down  so  that  his  remains  might  be  carried  out. 
Meantime  the  enemy  discovered  the  crowd  around  him  and  coi* 
cent-rated  their  fire  on  us,  and  shot  young  Wade  Hampton 
through  the  spine  and  killed  one  of  General  Hampton's  couriers. 
About  one  hour  after  General  Hampton's  sons  were  shot,  one  of 
the  cannoneers  of  Hart's  battery  reported  to  General  Butler  that 
a  major  was  lying  some  distance  in  front  in  the  broom-sedge, 
badly  wounded.  He  at  once  sent  some  scouts  out  in  search  of 
him,  but  they  returned  unsuccessful.  After  a  time  Major  Barker 
dragged  himself  out,  terribly  wounded.  When  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor, 
chief  surgeon  of  the  division,  examined  him,  he  thought  the 
wound  fatal,  but  he  happily  recovered.  Our  own  Dr.  B.  W. 
Taylor  took  no  heed  of  cannon  balls  nor  minnie  balls  that  day, 
but  spent  the  whole  time  alleviating  the  sufferings  of  the 
wounded.  Never  was  there  a  surgeon  in  any  army  who  behaved 
with  more  gallantry  and  Christian  fortitude  than  did  Dr. 
Taylor. 

We  kept  up  the  fight  until  nightfall.  I  can  never  forget  that 
night;  how  young  Wade  Hampton  was  carried  to  a  little  hut, 
and  when  Dr.  Taylor  went  to  dress  his  wound,  Captain  Lowndes, 
who  was  as  brave  as  Julius  Caesar,  could  stand  and  see  the 


360  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

enemy  bleed  and  die,  but  when  he  saw  how  bloody  his  friend 
was,  he  fainted  and  fell  like  a  beef.  Dr.  Taylor  had  to  admin 
ister  to  him  at  once  before  proceeding  with  the  wounded  young 
man,  who  behaved  so  gallantly  in  the  fight. 

General  Hancock  was  driven  some  distance  and  retired  to 
his  lines. 

Our  attack  saved  General  Mahone's  division,  which  was  being 
handled  well,  but  hard  pressed  on  our  left  by  largely  superior 
numbers.  We  also  heard  that  Hancock  made  a  very  narrow 
escape.  A  shell  from  Hart's  battery  exploded  very  near  his 
horse.  It  seems  that  General  Grant  always  selected  General 
Hancock  Avhen  he  wanted  to  attack  General  Hampton.  He 
gave  us  a  terrible  fight,  but  did  not  succeed  in  breaking  into  our 
lines  very  far.  In  the  afternoon  of  this  memorable  day,  General 
Lee  sent  General  A.  P.  Hill  with  his  gallant  old  corps  down  to 
help  us  entertain  the  several  corps  commanded  by  Major-General 
Parke,  Major-General  Gregg  and  Major-General  Warden,  while 
we  strained  a  point  to  entertain  General  Hancock,  "the  superb," 
specially. 

Colonel  John  Esten  Cooke,  in  "Mohun,"  speaks  of  General 
Butler  as  the  gallant,  noble  Butler.  "The  bravest  are  the  ten- 
derest,  the  loving  are  the  daring."  General  Maury  tells  a  story 
worthy  of  everlasting  remembrance  about  three  of  our  distin 
guished  young  soldiers:  "Colonel  John  C.  Haskell,  whose  arm 
was  shattered  so  that  amputation  at  the  shoulder  was  necessary. 
The  surgeon  was  about  to  administer  chloroform,  when  Haskell 
said:  'Stop,  Doctor,  you  must  have  very  little  chloroform  since 
the  enemy  have  declared  it  contraband  of  war.  Is  it  not  so?' 
'Yes,  Colonel,'  said  the  surgeon.  'Then  keep  it  for  some  poor 
soldier  who  needs  it,  I  can  do  without  it.'  was  the  reply  of  this 
brave,  unselfish  man. 

"General  M.  C.  Butler  of  South  Carolina  was  seriously 
wounded  and  maimed  for  life  at  the  battle  of  Brandy  Station. 
He  and  a  young  captain  named  Farley  had  just  come  out  of 
action  early  in  the  morning,  and  were  laughing  together  over 
some  amusing  incident  they  had  noticed,  and  at  that  moment  a 
cannon  ball  came  bounding  at  them.  It  struck  Butler's  leg  above 
the  ankle,  tore  through  his  horse  and  cut  off  Farley's  leg  above 
the  knee.  Down  they  all  went,  Butler  began  to  staunch  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  361 

blood  with  his  handkerchief  and  advised  Farley  how  to  do  the 
same.  Captain  Chestnut,  Lieutenant  Khett  and  other  officers 
came  running  to  Butler's  help,  but  at  that  moment  he  observed 
that  Farley's  dying  horse  was  struggling  and  seemed  likely  to 
crush  the  rider.  'Go  at  once  to  Farley,'  cried  Butler,  'he  needs 
you  more  than  I  do.'  They  did  as  they  were  bidden,  and  as 
Farley  was  placed  on  a  litter,  he  asked  them  to  bring  his  leg  and 
put  it  too  on  the  litter.  Then  he  said:  'Now,  gentlemen,  you  have 
done  all  for  me  that  is  possible.  I  shall  be  dead  in  an  hour.  God 
bless  you  for  your  kindness.  I  bid  you  all  an  affectionate  fare 
well.  Go  at  once  to  Butler.'  That  evening  General  Butler's  leg 
was  dressed  in  the  hospital  just  as  poor  Farley  breathed  his  last. 
Henceforth,"  says  General  Maury,  "we  shall  not  need  to  go  to 
Sir  Philip  Sidney  for  an  example  of  noble  self-sacrifice." 

General  Butler's  division  staff  consisted  of  Major  T.  G. 
Barker,  adjutant-general;  James  N.  Lipscomb,  captain  and 
assistant-general;  O.  N.  Butler,  lieutenant  and  aide-de-camp; 
John  S.  Preston,  major  and  assistant  inspector-general; 
B.  W.  Taylor,  chief  surgeon;  James  M.  Mason,  captain 
and  ordnance  officer;  George  Melton,  major  and  assistant 
commissary-general;  Major  Emmet  Seibels  was  acting  aide-de 
camp.  The  couriers  were :  Jim  Nix,  who  rode  a  roan  horse ;  Alex 
Taylor,  who  was  mounted  on  a  beautiful  little  sorrel ;  Billy  Gar- 
vin,  was  on  a  dark  brown,  ball-faced,  white-legged,  glass-eyed 
horse,  and  a  little  fellow  named  Jackson,  who  was  known  among 
the  couriers  as  "Stonewall,"  rode  a  sorrel  horse.  I  was  mounted 
on  a  bay.  Starling  Turner  was  wagon  master,  and  Billy  Burrell 
was  caterer,  Jesse  Hart  was  headquarters  commissary,  and  John 
Wyche  drove  the  headquarters  ambulance,  and  an  old  fellow 
named  Johnson  drove  the  medicine  ambulance.  This  old  fellow 
was  subject  to  cramp  colic,  as  we  will  see  later  on.  The  day  before 
the  battle  of  Burgess'  Mill  John  Wyche,  Jesse  Hart,  Hugh  Scott, 
the  famous  scout,  and  myself  messed  together  and  had  decided 
to  celebrate  my  18th  birthday,  Thursday  October  27,  1864,  in 
royal  Confederate  style.  "Our  birthdays,  what  are  they  but 
warnings  that  sound  at  intervals  from  off  the  rock-bound  coast 
of  time."  Unfortunately  for  us,  we  thought  then,  Hugh  Scott 
was  ordered  to  go  behind  Grant's  army.  We  knew  from  that 
order  that  trouble  was  near,  but  did  not  expect  it  so  soon.  For 


362  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  birthday  celebration  we  procured  a  canteen  full  of  apple 
jack,  and  John,  my  faithful  servant,  had  gathered  together  a 
chicken,  a  peck  of  sweet  potatoes  and  some  collards.  Jesse  Hart, 
Wyche  and  myself  sat  around  the  camp  fire  talking  about  the 
good  things  we  would  have  next  day,  and  after  passing  several 
resolutions  that  we  would  not  open  the  canteen  until  next  morn 
ing,  we  reluctantly  retired  for  the  night  in  the  headquarters 
ambulance.  Hart  weighed  200  pounds,  Wyche  190  pounds  and 
I  120.  I  was  wedged  in  between  them,  but  for  thinking  of  the 
good  things  we  thought  were  in  store  for  us,  we  could  not  sleep, 
and  I  ventured  to  say  that  I  could  not  see  how  just  one  drink 
would  hurt  us.  So  we  were  soon  again  around  the  fire  drinking 
from  the  "old  canteen,"  and  wrhen  we  returned  to  the  ambulance 
I  soon  discovered  that  there  was  no  room  in  the  ambulance  for 
me  and  the  apple  jack  too,  as  I  began  to  feel  very  sick  and  every 
thing  seemed  to  be  turning  round.  I  put  my  head  over  the  hind 
gate  of  the  ambulance  in  order  to  pour  out  the  "vials  of  wrath" 
of  the  apple  jack.  I  was  soon  relieved,  however,  but  must  say 
to  my  disgust  that  I  raised  such  a  racket  that  General  Butler 
was  awakened,  and  said  in  a  loud  voice  to  Wyche :  "What  in  the 
d — l  is  the  matter  out  there?"  And  he  quickly  answered: 
'Nothing,  General,  only  old  man  Johnson  has  got  the  cramp 
colic,  but  the  medicine  we  recommended  will  soon  fix  him."  It 
is  useless  to  say  that  we  ate  nothing  until  Friday,  the  28th.  As 
above  stated,  the  fight  began  at  the  break  of  day  on  the  27th. 
Hancock's  men  pressed  us  very  hard,  and  a  desperate  fight  took 
place  right  in  our  camp.  We  slowly  fell  back  to  our  regular  line 
of  battle  on  the  Boydton  plank-road,  where  we  fought  stubbornly 
until  black  dark,  as  described  above. 

After  the  battle,  on  Friday  morning,  I  asked  John  where  my 
servant  was  and  Wyche  said :  "I  never  saw  a  nigger  run  so  since 
I  was  born.  He  passed  the  wagon  train  with  a  double-barrel 
shotgun,  with  nearly  all  of  his  clothing  torn  off,  and  said  he 
would  kill  every  d — d  Yankee  that  was  fool  enough  to  catch  up 
with  him — that  he  was  getting  mad."  About  three  days  after 
the  fight  John  got  back  with  his  face  badly  scratched  up  and  no 
hat,  and  begged  me  to  let  him  go  home,  where  he  remained.  He 
was  an  affectionate  negro.  When  my  brother  was  killed  at  Tre- 
villian  Station  on  the  12th  of  June,  1864,  John  wept  like  a  child. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  363 

Well  do  I  remember  how  my  brother  and  myself,  when  little 
boys,  would  beg  the  overseer  not  to  whip  him  for  running  away. 
Every  time  the  cotton  got  in  the  grass  John  was  just  as  sure  to 
run  away  as  a  wild  horse  is  to  run  when  the  trace  breaks.  John's 
first  trip  to  Virginia  was  with  my  father  in  1862,  and  when  he 
returned  so  full  of  romance  was  he  that  all  the  negroes  from  the 
surrounding  plantation  would  stretch  their  eyes  and  marvel  at 
the  wonderful  tales  as  told  by  him.  After  the  war  I  remember 
in  October,  1865,  a  Yankee  soldier  had  straggled  away  from  the 
garrison  at  Edgeneld,  S.  C.,  and  asked  me  for  dinner,  which  I 
gave  him,  and  soon  discovered  that  he  was  in  liquor.  He  wished 
to  return  my  kindness;  said  that  he  would  go  into  the  field  and 
straighten  out  the  negroes.  He  went  alone.  The  first  order  he 
gave  John  jumped  on  him  and  beat  him  unmercifully,  and  told 
him  that  if  ever  he  caught  him  on  that  place  again  he  would  cer 
tainly  kill  him.  The  soldier  evidently  thought  he  was  in  earnest 
for  he  never  returned.  I  asked  John  why  he  beat  him  so,  and  he 
said:  "Well,  Marse  Nuly,  I  just  wanted  to  show  these  niggers 
how  I  used  to  do  them  d — d  Yankees  up  in  Virginny."  If  John 
were  here  tonight  how  natural  it  would  be  for  him  to  ask  if  he 
was  the  only  nigger  who  ran  at  Burgess'  Mill.  Let  history 
answer. 

In  the  Field,  Virginia,  October  30,  1864. 

Captain  Israel  R.  Sealy,  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  Department  of  Vir 
ginia  and  North  Carolina,  Army  of  the  James. 

Sir:  We,  the  undersigned  officers  of  the  Twenty-second  Regiment, 
U.  S.  Colored  Troops,  most  respectfully  and  urgently  solicit  an  order  con 
vening  a  court  of  inquiry  to  investigate  the  action  and  conduct  of  Colonel 
J.  B.  Kiddoe,  while  commanding  the  regiment  during  the  27th  inst.,  and 
leading  it  into  action  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  Fully  imbued  with 
the  responsibility  resting  on  us  while  taking  our  men  into  action,  we  hold 
it  to  be  due  the  honor  and  name  of  the  regiment  to  which  it  is  our  pride  to 
belong,  as  also  a  duty  owing  to  ourselves,  as  men  and  officers,  and  to  the 
men  under  our  charge,  that  the  veil  be  lifted  which  enshrouds  our  dis 
graceful  rout  on  the  27th  inst.  *  *  * 

Signed  by  six  captains  and  one  lieutenant  of  the  colored  regiment. 

It  seems  from  their  own  report  that  the  "rebel  yell"  (as  usual) 
had  a  moving  effect  on  this  occasion. 

Comrades,  did  you  ever  fight  negroes  in  the  war?  Well,  if 
so,  did  you  notice  that  your  guns  would  shoot  faster  and 


364  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

straighter  than  ever  before?  Did  you  ever  see  a  comrade  after 
he  had  surrendered  to  a  negro  soldier,  and  if  so,  where?  And 
did  you  ever  take  a  negro  soldier  prisoner,  aifd  if  so,  what  did 
you  do  with  him?  I  never  saw  one  captured  nor  one  after  he 
was  captured. 

General  Sherman  says  "war's  hell,"  and  we  found  race  preju 
dice  to  be  strong  there. 

A  gallant  private  soldier,  who  had  won  laurels  on  other  fields, 
just  one  month  after  this  memorable  bloody  day,  was  captured 
and  held  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  kept  in  the  pens  where  private 
soldiers  suffered.  This  private  soldier  belonged  to  the  Third 
Virginia  cavalry,  although  at  one  time  he  was  colonel,  and  at 
another  a  brigadier- general  in  the  United  States  Army,  and  is 
now  engaged  in  dispensing  justice  through  a  judicial  quill  to  our 
friends,  the  enemy,  in  New  York. 

Listen  while  I  read  letters  from  General  C.  M.  Wilcox,  C. 
S.  A.,  to  General  Grant,  U.  S.  A.,  and  from  General  Meade  to 
General  Wilcox  in  reply  about  this  distinguished  man : 

Headquarters  Wilcox's  Division, 

November  29,  1864. 
Lieut.-Gen.  U.  8.  Grant,  Commanding  Armies  of  the  United  States. 

Sir :  I  take  the  liberty  of  writing  to  you  with  reference  to  an  incident 
that  occurred  between  the  picket  lines  of  the  two  armies  on  Sunday,  the 
27th  iust.,  about  2  p.  in.,  and  after  my  explanation  of  the  affair,  I  trust  the 
request  may  be  granted,  believing  that  my  statement  will  be  confirmed  by 
the  reports  of  the  officers  and  men  of  my  command. 

The  affair  that  I  refer  to  is  the  capture  of  Private  Roger  A.  Pryor,  Third 
Virginia  Cavalry,  on  the  27th  inst,  by  the  pickets  of  the  troops  under  your 
command,  and  under  the  following  circumstances,  viz:  At  the  time  men 
tioned,  the  soldier  rode  up  to  our  picket  line,  and  looked  for  awhile  at  the 
opposite  line  through  his  glass,  then  dismounted  from  his  horse,  and  taking 
from  his  pocket  a  newspaper,  waved  it  toward  a  group  of  Federal  officers. 
One  of  these  responded  to  this  with  a  paper  in  a  similar  manner,  and  the 
two  mutually  approached  for  the  exchange  of  papers.  Private  Pryor  asked 
the  pickets  on  our  side  not  to  fire.  Upon  meeting  each  other  they  shook 
hands  and  exchanged  papers.  The  Federal  officer  then  seized  Pryor  by  the 
arm  and  led  him  off  to  the  rear.  Upon  reaching  the  line  in  the  rear  a  crowd 
gathers  around  them  and  seemed  to  regard  him  as  a  prisoner,  and  since 
then  he  has  not  been  seen.  I  feel  much  interest  in  the  case  of  this  young 
soldier,  but  cannot  ask  of  our  commander  of  our  forces  to  intercede  for  him, 
as  it  is  against  his  positive  orders  to  exchange  papers  with  the  Federals, 
and  doubtless  like  orders  from  yourself.  It  is,  however,  well  known  that 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  365 

papers  are  exchanged,  and,  as  above  indicated,  when  not  actually  engaged 
in  deadly  strife,  men  from  both  armies  are  anxious  and  willing,  and  very 
naturally  so,  to  hold  communication  and  exchange  papers.  This  soldier  is, 
I  believe,  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  sentiment  of  honor,  and  could  have 
approached  your  lines  without  sinister  purpose,  and  though  at  this  time 
a  private  in  the  ranks  from  choice,  has  been  both  a  colonel  and  brigadier- 
general  in  our  army,  and  filled  both  grades  with  credit  to  himself. 

Should  my  statement  be  corroborated  by  that  of  your  officers,  I  believe 
this  man's  case  will  be  favorably  regarded  by  you,  and  that  he  will  soon 
be  returned  to  our  lines,  to  his  friends  and  family. 

I  am  with  high  respect,  very  truly,  etc.  C.  M.  WILCOX, 

Major-General,  C.  S.  A. 

The  next  day  General  Wilcox  received  this  answer : 

Major-General  C.  M.  Wilcox,  C.  S.  Army: 

Your  letter  of  the  28th  inst.  has  been  referred  to  me  by  Lieuteuant- 
General  U.  S.  Grant,  with  directions  to  reply  to  it.  I  regret  extremely  that 
it  is  not  within  my  power  to  accede  to  your  request  by  returning  to  your 
lines  Private  R.  A.  Pryor,  Third  Virginia  Cavalry.  The  same  considera 
tions  which  prevented  you  from  applying  to  your  commanding  general  pre 
cludes  me  from  sanctioning  this  irregular  intercourse  between  the  opposing 
pickets,  which  is  in  direct  violation  of  my  orders,  and  for  violating  which 
and  thus  permitting  himself  to  be  captured  in  a  similar  manner,  I  recently 
dismissed  Captain  Burrage  of  Massachusetts  regiment.  Private  Pryor  will 
have  to  suffer  the  consequence  of  his  imprudence.  He  will  be  held  as  pris 
oner  of  war  and  with  all  consideration  due  his  position. 

I  remain,  General,  with  great  respect,  etc. 

GEORGE  G.  MEADE, 
Major-General  Commanding. 

On  the  28th  of  October,  1864,  General  Hancock  sent  over  to  the 
Confederates  a  flag  of  truce  to  be  allowed  to  bury  his  dead.  The 
men  on  both  sides  had  become  accustomed  to  see  each  other  suffer 
and  die,  and  the  men  in  blue  who  were  detailed  to  perform  these 
last  sad  rites  were  callous  and  easily  contented  themselves  with 
shallow  graves  for  their  dead  comrades,  and  after  the  first  rain 
that  fell  on  these  narrow  holes  in  the  earth,  you  could  see  an  arm 
showing  here  or  a  foot  in  the  open  there,  &c. 

Now  the  grave  diggers  they  had— 

"Gone,  and  there  was  not  a  gleam  of  them, 

Gone,  and  we  could  only  dream  of  them, 

Gone  into  the  night  of  the  nevermore" 

as  far  as  their  dead  were  concerned. 


366  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

November  nights  in  Virginia  are  chilly,  and  our  men  being 
thinly  clad,  and  shoes  and  blankets  were  not  to  be  had,  they 
were  forced  from  necessity  to  see  that  there  £ould  be  no  harm 
in  uncovering  these  above-mentioned  graves  and  get  the  blankets, 
shoes,  hats  and  pants  that  could  not  be  of  any  further  service 
only  to  keep  those  of  us  from  suffering  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  get  them.  I  take  the  following  from  Colonel  A.  C. 
Haskell's  address,  delivered  in  Spartanburg  May  10,  1897.  In 
speaking  of  Confederate  soldiers,  take  them  as  depicted  by  the 
enemy  in  "Recollections  of  a  Private  Soldier  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,"  as  his  line  lay  before  our  Avorks  in  the  summer  of 
1864  awaiting  the  order  for  the  attack:  "Every  man  in  the 
Second  Army  corps  knew,"  says  he,  "that  not  many  miles  away 
that  the  columns  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  were  march 
ing  furiously  to  save  Petersburg  and  Richmond  and  the  Confed 
eracy.  We  could  almost  see  those  veteran  troops — lean,  squalid, 
and  hungry  and  battle-torn,  with  set  jaws  and  anxious-looking 
eyes — striding  rapidly  through  the  dust,  pouring  over  bridges, 
crowding  through  streets  of  villages  and  ever  hurrying  to  face 
us,  and  we  knew  that  once  they  got  behind  the  works  in  our 
front  we  could  not  drive  them  out." 

In  General  B.  F.  Butler's  book  is  another  testimonial  to  the 
physical  suffering  of  the  "men  in  gray."  In  discussing  the  treat 
ment  of  prisoners  under  the  non-exchange  policy  enforced  by  the 
Federal  authorities,  he  writes:  "I  feel  bound  to  say  that  from 
careful  examination  of  the  subject,  I  do  not  believe  that  either  the 
people  or  the  higher  authorities  of  the  Confederacy  were  in  so 
great  a  degree  responsible  as  they  have  been  accused.  In  the  matter 
of  starvation  it  is  incontestable  that  a  soldier  of  our  army  would 
have  quite  starved  on  the  rations  which  in  the  latter  days  of  the 
war  were  served  out  to  the  Confederate  soldier  before  Peters 
burg.  I  examined  the  haversacks  of  prisoners,  and  found  therein 
as  their  rations  of  three  days  scarcely  more  than  a  pint  of  kernels 
of  corn,  none  of  which  were  broken,  but  only  parched  to  black 
ness  by  the  fire,  and  a  piece  of  meat,  most  frequently  raw  bacon, 
some  three  inches  long  by  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  and  less  than 
half  an  inch  thick.  Now,  no  Northern  soldier  could  have  lived 
three  days  upon  that,  and  the  lank,  emaciated  condition  of  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  367 

prisoner  fully  testified  to  the  meagreness  of  his  means  of  subsis 
tence." 

With  regard  to  clothing  he  goes  on  to  say: 

"It  was  simply  impossible  for  the  Confederates  at  that  time 
and  for  many  months  preceding  to  have  sufficient  clothing  upon 
the  bodies  of  their  soldiers,  and  many  passed  the  winter  barefoot." 

"These  were  men 
Whom  power  could  not  corrupt, 
Whom  death  could  not  terrify, 
Whom  defeat  could  not  dishonor ; 
And  let  their  virtues  plead 
For  just  judgment 
Of  the  cause  in  which  they  perished." 

Major  Hart  makes  a  statement  which  I  hereto  attach,  with 
many  thanks  to  this  gallant  old  hero : 

Yorkville,  S.  C.,  September  2,  1897. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Brooks:  I  would  like,  of  all  things,  to  be  present  at  the 
reading  of  your  paper  tomorrow  night,  on  the  Battle  of  Burgesse's  Mill. 
My  interest  is  something  more  than  of  a  participant,  for  I  left  a  leg  there 
on  that  early  morning  fight.  I  have  no  doubt  your  paper  will  be  filed  as 
a  part  of  the  history  of  the  battle,  and  as  I  participated  in  a  corner  of  it 
away  from  general  observation,  I  give  you  my  story. 

My  battery  was  on  a  plank  road  near  Wilson's  House,  when  firing  was 
heard  at  daylight  that  morning  in  the  direction  of  Armstrong's  Mill. 
"Boots  and  Saddles"  sounded  at  once,  and  battery  was  put  in  motion  for 
the  firing.  Met  a  courier  from  Hampton,  saying:  "Bring  your  guns  to 
Armstrong's  Mill  at  once;  enemy  attacked  in  heavy  force."  Reaching  the 
Quaker  road,  where  my  road  crossed  it  at  school  house  (near  saw  mill) 
some  cavalry  came  in  stampeded,  from  the  direction  of  Stoney  Creek,  say 
ing  that  the  enemy  had  broken  our  lines,  and  a  heavy  force  of  cavalry  was 
moving  up  that  road  and  wrould  be  there,  closing  Hampton's  outlet  from 
Armstrong's  and  capture  his  trains  packed  at  the  school  house.  I  took  two 
guns  and  went  at  a  gallop  to  Gravelly  Run  and  swamp  three-fourths  (or 
perhaps  half  a  mile)  south  on  the  Quaker  road,  and  sent  remaining  guns 
to  Hampton  with  message  of  what  I  had  done.  Major  T.  B.  Barker  was 
at  the  cross  roads,  and  I  asked  him  to  send  everything  he  could  find  as 
supports.  Captain  M.  J.  Hough,  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry,  brought  his  com 
pany,  and  some  dismounted  cavalry  also  were  brought  in,  and  with  these 
I  protected  my  flanks ;  the  guns  held  the  bridge  until  Hampton  had  retired 
from  Hatcher's  Run  and  the  trains  had  got  away. 

I  think  Gregg's  cavalry  division  must  have  been  held  here  from  two  to 
three  hours,  for  I  moved  out  before  sunrise,  and  it  was  12  o'clock  before  he 


368  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

got  to  the  Cross  Roads  at  Dabney's  Mill.  Young's  brigade  came  in  behind 
my  guns  and  enabled  me  to  get  away.  See  General  Gregg's  report,  War 
Records,  Vol.  42,  part  I ;  also  Colonel  C.  H.  Smith,  Commanding  Gregg's 
First  Brigade,  same  volume.  They  both  lie  like  dogs  when  they  say  they 
charged  and  carried  the  position,  and  that  it  was  held  by  a  "large  force." 
I  don't  think  I  had  over  125  men,  all  told,  during  the  fight,  and  with 
Young's  help  the  guns  were  retired  when  the  end  was  accomplished  for 
which  I  carried  them  there.  I  was  shot  just  before  they  were  withdrawn. 

Yours  truly, 

JAS.  F.  HART. 

In  August,  1864,  our  infantry  was  in  the  trenches  of  Peters 
burg,  and  with  so  much  practice  the  men  on  both  sides  had  be 
come  excellent  marksmen  with  artillery  as  well  as  with  small 
arms.  So  expert  were  our  friends,  the  enemy,  with  big  guns  that 
they  could  throw  a  shell  with  almost  as  much  accuracy  as  an 
expert  pitcher  in  a  baseball  team,  and  when  mortar  shells  were 
thrown  up  into  the  air  they  wrould  frequently  fall  behind  our 
breastworks  and  burst,  killing  three  or  four  men — the  fuse  was 
arranged  so  that  it  was  seldom  the  shell  did  not  explode  the  very 
second  it  touched  the  ground.  One  day  one  of  these  life-destroy 
ers  fell  behind  the  breastworks  right  between  the  feet  of  a  gal 
lant  young  soldier  17  years  old,  and  instead  of  running  to  save 
himself  and  letting  his  comrades  die,  as  quick  as  thought  he 
pitched  it  over  the  breastworks  and  it  exploded  before  it  touched 
the  ground.  The  brave  boy  who  performed  this  heroic  deed 
belonged  to  the  First  South  Carolina  Volunteers,  Jenkins'  brig 
ade,  which  regiment  was  commanded  by  the  youngest  colonel  in 
either  army,  and  who  was  only  19  years  of  age.  How  touching 
the  scene  was  when  the  bpy  colonel  complimented  the  boy  shell- 
pitcher  before  the  whole  regiment  for  this  deed.  This  was  wit 
nessed  by  First  Lieutenant  J.  R.  Best  and  Lieutenant  J.  R.  Bryan 
of  Company  E,  Fifth  South  Carolina  Volunteers.  This  gallant 
young  boy,  Colonel  James  Hagood,  who  survived  the  war  and 
was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident  just  after  the  surrender,  and  the 
gallant  young  shell-pitcher  is  none  other  than  Colonel  F.  M. 
Mixon  of  our  city.  A  report  of  this  incident  was  made  to  General 
Lee  and  so  impressed  was  he  that  this  is  what  he  wrote  about  the 
boy  colonel  after  the  railroad  accident  occurred: 

"It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  state  that  Colonel  J.  R.  Hagood,  during 
the  whole  time  of  his  connection  with  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  was 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

conspicuous  for  gallantry,  efficiency  and  good  conduct.  By  his  merit,  con 
stantly  exhibited,  he  rose  from  a  private  in  his  regiment  to  its  command, 
and  showed  by  his  actions  that  he  was  worthy  of  the  position. 

(Signed)     "R.  E.   LEE, 
"Lexington,  Va.,  March  25,  1868." 

"But  their  memories  e'er  shall  remain  for  us, 
And  their  names,  bright  names,  without  stain  for  us, 
The  glory  they  won  shall  not  wane  for  us, 

In  legend  and  lay 

Our  heroes  in  gray 
Shall  forever  live  over  again  for  us." 


24— B.  c. 


370  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


"KIT  GOODWYN,"  COLORED 

When  the  "Hampton  Legion"  was  encamped  near  "Valle 
Cmcis"  many  a  man  arranged  it  so  that  family  servants  were 
permitted  to  attach  themselves  to  the  entourage  of  "headquarters" 
or  mess  organization.  These  colored  boys  followed  the  column 
on  many  desperate  marches,  riding  in  easy  touch  of  the  young 
masters,  who  with  inordinate  pride  wore  the  gray.  The  relations 
of  master  and  man  were  ofttimes  touching,  touching  to  a  degree 
when  with  tender  care  they  prepared  the  young  master  for  burial. 

"Kit  Goodwyn"  was  a  follower  in  an  humble  way  of  all  the 
"Hamptons"  in  the  eventful  period  of  1861-1865,  especially  Gen 
eral  Wade,  and  Colonel  Frank  Hampton.  When  on  that  eventful 
day  at  Brandy  Station,  Frank  Hampton  fell  covering  a  splendid 
retreat,  with  masses  of  men  crowding,  but  contesting  inch  by  inch 
the  ground  to  be  covered.  There  was  in  the  death  of  Colonel 
Hampton  something  which  recalled  the  last  moments  of  a  "Cru 
sader,"  for  in  bearing,  in  courage,  and  in  deportment  he  reminded 
me  ever  of  Scott's  "Talisman,"  and  "Sir  Kenneth"  personified  in 
Frank  Hampton. 

Kit  Goodwyn  loved  "Mass  Wade"  (General  Hampton) ;  he 
simply  adored  "The  Colonel,"  "Mass  Frank,"  and  Kit  has  felt  all 
the  days  of  his  life  that  with  Hampton,  Preston  and  Manning  the 
latch-string  hangs  within  easy  reach. 

Kit  keeps  alive  the  memories  of  former  days,  and  almost  any 
Saturday,  should  one  exert  himself  and  in  an  idle  moment  visit 
"Trinity  churchyard,"  Kit  could  be  found  dusting  and  cleaning 
the  tombs  of  former  army  friends,  playmates,  and  young  masters, 
if  you  choose.  Kit  and  the  sound  of  bullets  and  of  screeching 
shells  were  familiar  friends,  and  with  gentle  hands  and  on 
bended  knee  he  helped  sooth  the  last  moments  of  a  master,  no  less 
than  friend.  In  that  one  moment  he  prayed  as  you  and  I  would 
have  done,  comrade,  for  a  playmate,  schoolmate,  or  friend — he 
prayed  for  one  loved  by  him,  with  the  same  tenderness  that  you 
and  I  prayed  for  our  three. 

Now,  one  day  I  witnessed  the  heart  of  Kit  Goodwyn  bowed 
down.  "Burgess's  Mill,"  October  27th,  1864,  was  a  terrific  engage- 


WADE    H.     MANNING 


372  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ment,  and  after  a  terrible  struggle,  Preston  Hampton  went  to  his 
death  rendering  duty  to  his  father  as  aide-de-gamp,  and  Major 
Wade  Hampton,  A.  D.  C.  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  but  that 
day  a  volunteer  aide  to  his  father,  received  a  terrible  wound.  It 
was  about  4  p.  m.  when  Wade  and  Preston  fell,  the  enemy  were 
pressing.  At  this  juncture  General  M.  C.  Butler  ordered  Major 
Theo.  G.  Barker  to  order  Major  T.  B.  Ferguson  to  "move  forward 
and  charge  his  front."  At  this  instant  General  M.  C.  Butler 
directed  his  personal  courier,  U.  R.  Brooks,  to  order  Colonel 
R.  B.  Jeffords  to  advance  his  regiment,  and  the  gallant  Fifth 
moved  forward  together  with  the  Sixth.  It  was  then  that  Jeffords 
fell,  a  bullet  penetrating  the  brain. 

A  spell  fell  over  the  field  that  day,  but  under  orders  U.  R. 
Brooks  rode  forward,  and  reporting  to  General  Hampton  that 
Major  Barker  was  desperately  wounded,  Colonel  Jeffords  killed, 
Preston  and  Wade,  one  dead  on  the  field  of  battle,  the  other  sorely 
wounded,  bore  testimony  to  the  courage  and  endurance  of  Caro 
linians  on  battlefields  of  the  South,  from  Sumter  to  Virginia,  and 
Carolinians  first,  last  and  all  the  time  for  the  "Confederacy." 

This  is  mere  tribute  to  the  "Orderly"  and  "Courier"  life  of 
South  Carolina's  chieftains.  Hampton  and  Butler  dead,  both 
loved  Carolina.  Soon  it  may  be  that  over  the  sunset  of  our 
glorious  Southern  sky  there,  across  the  "Old  Congaree,"  one  of 
the  gallant  men  who  fought  to  the  finish,  joined  Hampton,  and 
as  the  two  in  fearful  days  maintained  the  honor  of  the  State,  so 
as  they  have  passed  away  they  leave  only  the  memories  of  the 
past,  "dear  as  remembered  kisses  after  death." 

WADE  HAMPTON  MANNING, 
Orderly  Wade  Hampton, 

Charleston  Light  Dragoons, 
Troop  "K,"  Fourth  S.  C.  Cavalry. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  373 


CONTRIBUTION  FROM  A  YANKEE  SCOUT 

By  invitation  of  Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  of  Columbia,  S.  C.,  that 
gallant  and  knightly  Southern  gentleman  whose  record  in  the 
Confederate  Army  is  second  to  none,  the  writer  proposes  to  give 
here  a  little  incident  of  the  war  which  may  be  of  interest  to  some 
of  the  readers  of  Colonel  Brooks's  priceless  volume.  It  is  hardly 
necessary,  at  the  outset,  to  say  that  these  lines  are  penned  by  what 
not  a  few  Southerners  would  rather  ironically  term  a  "Yankee 
soldier."  He  was  but  a  youth  of  seventeen  when  he  enlisted  in 
the  Thirty-fourth  Ohio  Infantry  Regiment,  recruited  in  Cincin 
nati,  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  who  will  not  be  charged  with 
boasting  when  he  tells  you  that  he  served  with  his  regiment  con 
tinuously  from  July  25th,  1861,  to  July  25th,  1865,  and  in  these 
four  eventful  years  participated  in  forty-two  engagements,  big 
and  little,  and  who,  in  one  of  the  battles  in  and  around  Win 
chester,  Va.,  was  struck  in  the  right  shoulder  by  a  Confederate 
bullet. 

Well,  this  is  sufficient  for  identification,  and  now  for  the  remin 
iscence,  simple  as  it  is.  It  was  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah — that  slaughter  house  of  brave  men  on  either  side. 
General  Crook,  commanding  the  Army  of  Western  Virginia,  as 
it  was  then  called,  was  marching  with  a  small  detachment  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Callahan's  Stand.  The  general  was  followed  by 
his  staff,  orderlies  and  headquarters  clerks,  and  was  preceded  by 
a  part  of  a  troop  of  "Blazer's  Scouts,"  a  famous  organization  of 
Union  backwoodsmen  who  were  of  invaluable  service  to  the 
Federal  army.  The  writer,  then  but  an  humble  clerk  detailed  for 
duty  with  Crook's  headquarters,  asked  and  received  permission  to 
detach  himself  from  the  general  and  staff,  and  join  the  scouts. 
This  he  did  in  a  few  minutes.  Not  notifying  Captain  Blazer  of 
this  addition  to  his  force,  he  rather  modestly  tacked  himself  on 
to  the  rear  of  the  "Scouts,"  and  tried  to  act  as  though,  in  truth,  he 
was  one  of  them.  No  objection  to  his  presence  being  manifested, 
the  cavalcade,  with  its  new  recruit,  marched  on.  All  were 
superbly  mounted  and  ready  for  a  fight  or  a  foot  race.  We  had 
gone  perhaps  a  mile  from  where  the  new  "scout"  had  joined  his 


374  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

comrades  when  in  an  abrupt  bend  of  the  splendid  Virginia  road 
which  ran  beside  a  clear  and  limpid  stream,  we  very  unexpectedly 
were  confronted  by  a  body  of  horsemen,  who  were,  no  doubt,  as 
much  surprised  as  we  were.  Surprise  on  both  sides  was  manifest 
in  a  quick  drawing  of  reins,  which  brought  our  horses  onto  their 
haunches.  We  were  so  amazed  (both  sides,  for  it  need  hardly 
be  said  that  the  other  fellows  were  "Johnny  Rebs,")  that  a 
moment  or  two  elapsed  before  there  was  the  least  hostile  demon 
stration  by  either  Confederate  or  "Yank."  But  finally  some 
trooper  on  our  side,  with  more  presence  of  mind  than  his  com 
rades,  blazed  aw^ay  with  his  carbine.  It  afterwards  developed 
that  his  aim  was  bad,  for  no  one  was  hit.  The  next  instant  the 
popping  of  guns  became  lively.  But  the  Confederates,  seeing, 
perhaps,  that  we  had  the  advantage  in  numbers,  suddenly  and 
dexterously  wheeled  to  the  right  about,  and  left  us  in  possession 
of  the  "field."  And  then  began  such  a  Dick  Turpin  ride  as  per 
haps  has  never  been  excelled.  The  Southern  horses  were  fleet  of 
foot,  and  they  soon  left  the  scouts  far  in  the  rear.  But  finally 
the  Yanks  and  their  steeds  became  warmed  up,  and  we  made  some 
gain.  But  on  we  flew,  pursuing  and  pursued,  in  such  a  mad 
scamper  on  a  straight  and  beautiful  road  as  would  have  delighted 
the  heart  of  a  race-track  fiend.  Finally  some  of  the  boys  in  gray, 
whose  mounts  could  no  longer  stand  the  strain,  leaped  from  their 
saddles  and  took  to  the  woods.  Some  of  our  men,  too,  were  left 
in  the  lurch  by  the  stumbling  of  their  jaded  horses,  and  a  half- 
dozen  of  them  were  invalided  to  the  field  hospital  for  weeks.  At 
the  round-up,  which  was  fast  approaching,  not  half  the  number 
on  either  side  were  "present  for  duty."  And  when  we  got  close 
enough  to  have  the  least  chance  of  doing  any  execution  with  our 
carbines  and  pistols  the  small  remnant  of  the  pursued  were  few 
indeed. 

Just  as  they  ascended  a  slight  elevation,  the  "scouts"  in  the 
advance  began  to  blaze  away  with  might  and  main,  and  it  was 
soon  noticed  that  a  Confederate  had  calmly  dismounted,  leaving 
his  winded  steed  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and  as  coolly  as  if  on 
parade  had  made  his  way  to  a  fence  on  the  right-hand  side  of 
the  road,  and  there  awaited  the  arrival  of  his  enemies.  The 
writer  glanced  at  this  elegant  and  soldierly  officer,  as  he  went 
sweeping  past  him,  but  did  not  even  think  of  taking  him  prisoner. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-186,5.  375 

He  did  not  see  him  until  months  afterwards,  when  this  same 
officer  fell  into  our  hands  again  at  another  one  of  the  many 
engagements  around  historic  old  Winchester. 

Now,  who  was  this  gallant  and  soldierly  man,  dressed  in  the 
full  regalia  of  a  brigadier-general  C.  S.  A.?  None  other  than 
General  Rosser,  as  knightly  a  horseman  as  ever  wore  a  sword. 

But  a  word  or  so  remains.  The  writer  still  followed  the  little 
band  of  scouts,  and  within  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  of  where 
he  passed  General  Rosser,  he  rode  up  on  the  right  side  of  this 
horse  standing  in  the  road,  and  was  attracted  by  an  elegant  pistol- 
holster  on  the  saddle.  Here  was  something  that  would  at  once 
attract  the  attention  of  the  average  trooper,  and  in  his  eagerness 
to  get  the  contents  (if  any)  of  that  holster,  he  became  excited, 
and  in  the  flurry  he  pulled  the  trigger  of  his  own  pistol  and  shot 
the  poor  horse  ( Rosser 's  horse)  in  the  neck.  He  need  not  tell  you 
that  he  has  been  ashamed  of  it  ever  since,  although  it  was  but  an 
accident.  However,  he  snatched  out  the  pistol,  all  the  same,  and 
for  years  afterwards  kept  the  splendid  weapon  as  a  reminder  of 
an  engagement  in  which  he  did  not  exactly  cover  himself  with 
glory.  But  the  worst  of  it  was,  before  the  "scout"  recruit  had 
time  to  ride  around  to  the  other  side  of  the  poor  beast,  another 
fellow,  a  real  scout,  dashed  up  and  got  the  other  pistol. 

This  is  a  poor  story,  poorly  told,  but  here  it  is  all  the  same. 

MORTON  L.  HAWKINS. 


General  Sheridan  wrote  to  General  Augur,  2  August,  1864: 

"I  have  100  men  who  will  take  the  contract  to  clean  out  Mosby's 
gang.  I  want  100  Spencer  rifles  for  them.  Send  them  to  me  if 
they  can  be  found  in  Washington." 

It  was  now  evident  that  Mosby's  men  and  Blazer's  men  could 
not  occupy  the  same  section  of  country ;  one  or  the  other  must  go, 
and  which  one  was  a  question  to  be  settled  by  one  decisive  battle. 

Captain  Richard  Blazer's  command  was  composed  of  picked 
men  from  General  Crook's  division,  were  mostly  from  Ohio  and 
West  Virginia. 

After  the  disastrous  affair  at  Myer's  Ford  (as  described  by 
General  Hawkins),  where  our  First  squadron  was  so  badly  used 
up  by  Blazer,  the  men  were  anxious  to  wipe  out  the  stain  which 


376  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

they  felt  marred  their  fair  fame.  The  cutting  words  used  by 
Mosby,  when  he  heard  of  the  defeat  of  his  old  Company  A,  still 
rang  in  their  ears:  "You  let  the  Yankees  whip  you?  I  will  get 
hoopskirts  for  you.  I'll  send  you  into  the  first  Yankee  regiment 
we  come  across." 

At  last  the  opportunity  was  given  them  to  win  back  their  lost 
laurels.  On  the  18th  of  November,  1864,  Mosby's  men,  Companies 
A  and  B,  had  exactly  110  men,  and  Blazer's  scouts  numbered 
105  men.  At  Kabletown,  Va.,  Blazer's  men  used  their  carbines  at 
first,  until  we  got  fairly  among  them,  when  they  drew  their 
revolvers.  They  fought  desperately,  but  our  men  pressed  on,  broke 
them  and  finally  drove  them  from  the  field.  The  road  for  a  dis 
tance  of  several  miles  bore  evidence  of  the  deadly  conflict,  as  well 
as  the  discomfiture  of  the  Federals.  Blazer  used  every  endeavor 
to  rally  his  flying  followers,  but  seeing  the  utter  destruction  of  his 
command,  and  being  well  mounted,  he  endeavored  to  escape. 
Onward  he  dashed,  steadily  increasing  the  distance  between  him 
self  and  most  of  his  pursuers,  but  a  young  man  named  Ferguson, 
mounted  on  his  fleet  mare  "Fashion,"  followed  close  on  Blazer's 
heels.  After  emptying  his  pistol  without  being  able  to  hit  or  halt 
the  fugitive,  he  drove  spurs  into  his  horse  and  urging  her  along 
side  the  captain  dealt  him  a  blow  with  his  pistol  which  knocked 
him  from  his  horse  and  landed  him  in  a  fence  corner. 

"Boys,"  said  Blazer,  when  able  to  speak,  "you  have  whipped  us 
fairly.  All  I  ask  is  that  you  treat  us  well."  His  wounded  head 
was  tied  up  with  a  handkerchief,  and  he  soon  appeared  somewhat 
reconciled  to  his  fate. 

Twenty-one  Federals  w#re  killed,  a  large  number  wounded, 
many  mortally,  and  twenty-two  prisoners  taken.  Fifty  horses, 
with  their  equipments,  were  captured. 

Rev.  Sydnor  G.  Ferguson  is  now  a  Methodist  minister  of  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Va. 

After  his  release  from  prison,  Blazer  returned  to  his  regiment, 
the  Ninety-first  Ohio.  After  the  war  he  lived  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio, 
until  1878,  when  he  contracted  yellow  fever  from  the  victims  of 
the-  ill-fated  steamer  "John  Porter,"  and  died. 

[The  above  is  taken  from  the  "History  of  Mosby's  Command," 
by  James  J.  Williamson  of  Co.  A. — U.  R.  Brooks.] 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


377 


W.  L.  MAULDIN  OF  GREENVILLE 

The  new  president  pro  tempore  of  the  senate  has  had  many 
honors  in  State  affairs,  showing  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by 
his  fellow  citizens.  As  lieutenant-governor  he  presided  over  the 
State  senate  when  the  Act  was  passed  creating  Clemson  College. 
A  biographer  says  of  him : 

"William  L.  Mauldin  was  born  at  Greenville,  on  June  13,  1845. 
He  is  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Carolina  A.  (McHardy)  Mauldin, 

and  both  of  his  parental  grand  • 
sires  served  in  the  Colonial 
Army  throughout  the  Revolu 
tionary  War.  He  was  educated 
chiefly  at  Colonel  Stephen  Lee's 
academy,  at  Asheville,  N.  C., 
and  at  Furman  University,  in 
Greenville.  When  he  was  six 
teen  years  of  age  he  left  his 
home,  November,  1861,  to  join 
the  army,  enlisting  as  a  member 
of  Company  A,  of  the  Sixteenth 
Regiment  of  the  South  Carolina 
Infantry,  and  on  the  19th  of 
November,  1861,  he  left  Green 
ville  with  his  regiment  for 
Charleston.  He  served  in  the 
regiment  for  twelve  months, 
after  which  he  returned  home,  but  in  July,  1863,  he  entered  the 
Second  Cavalry  of  South  Carolina,  with  which  he  served  until 
the  close  of  the  war. 

"He  was  engaged  in  all  the  battles  in  which  his  regiment  took 
part  and  discharged  his  duties  in  a  brave  and  soldierly  manner, 
as  became  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  State.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  returned  to  Greenville  and  engaged  in  the  drug  business. 
Since  retiring  from  the  drug  business  Senator  Mauldin  has 
devoted  himself  to  his  farming  interests  and  the  political  affairs 
of  the  day.  He  was  president  of  the  Greenville  and  Laurens  rail- 


LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOB  W.  L.   MAULDIN 


378  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

road  until  the  same  was  consolidated,  he  having  aided  in  the 
building  of  this  road.  Among  his  political  offices  he  can  count  as 
many  as  any  citizen  of  the  State  today.  In  18T4  he  was  chosen 
member  of  the  board  of  aldermen  of  the  City  of  Greenville  and 
was  reflected  to  that  body  in  1875.  In  1877  he  was  elected  mayor 
of  the  city,  serving  in  that  capacity  for  one  term.  From  1878 
until  1886  he  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  County  Central 
Committee.  He  was  elected  to  the  lower  branch  of  the  State 
legislature  in  1882,  and  in  1884  he  became  a  member  of  the  senate. 
This  office  he  resigned  to  accept  that  of  lieutenant-governor,  to 
which  he  was  elected  in  1886.  He  was  reflected  in  1888,  his  term 
closing  in  1890,  in  December." 


PHIL    HUTCHINSON 
J.    G.    HOLMES 


W.    W.    RUSSELL 

W.    G1LMORE    SIMMS 


380  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


"DISMOUNTED     BATTALION,     BUTLER'S     CAV 
ALRY  BRIGADE" 

The  mid-summer  campaign  of  1864,  in  which  Major-General 
Wade  Hampton  (later  lieutenant-general)  signally  defeated 
Sheridan's  picked  command  of  some  8,000  cavalry  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  with  only  5,000  indifferently  armed  cavalry  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  was  not  only  hard  upon  the  men, 
but  peculiarly  hard  upon  the  horses;  and  many  hundred  horses 
of  Hampton's  command  were  unfit  for  service  after  Sheridan  had 
been  driven  to  the  protection  of  the  gunboats  at  the  White  House 
on  the  York  Eiver.  The  horses  of  Butler's  cavalry  brigade  that 
could  travel,  but  were  unfit  for  service,  were  ordered  to  the  re 
cruiting  camp  (more  correctly  dubbed  by  the  men  "the  dead 
line"),  near  Dover's  Mill  on  the  James  Eiver,  twenty  miles  above 
Richmond. 

Early  in  July  the  dismounted  men  were  sent  to  Richmond  by 
canal  boat  (a  delightful  night's  travel  for  tired  campaigners), 
and  thence  by  rail  to  Stoney  Creek,  ten  or  more  miles  south  of 
Petersburg. 

The  writer  found  himself  one  of  300  to  500  dismounted  men 
from  the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  regiments,  South  Carolina 
cavalry,  composing  Butler's  Cavalry  brigade,  under  command 
of  Lieutenant  Robert  Aldrich,  the  adjutant  of  the  Sixth 
regiment.  By  education  a  military  man,  just  of  age,  the  writer 
asked  his  old  class-mate  '(of  some  four  years  of  cadetship  at 
"King's  Mountain  Military  School"  at  Yorkville,  S.  C.,  under 
such  disciplinarians  as  later  General  Micah  Jenkins  and  Colonel 
Asbury  Coward;  and  then  of  the  South  Carolina  Military 
Academy),  why  he  didn't  organize  "the  mob?"  as  they  couldn't 
be  even  rationed,  much  less  drilled  and  fought  as  they  were. 
"Bob"  Aldrich,  easy-going  and  good-natured,  replied,  "Organize 
them  yourself,"  and  I  answered,  "I  will  if  you  will  write  me  an 
order  to  do  so,"  and  presto:  he  did,  and  this  was  the  genesis  of 
the  "Dismounted  Battalion,  Butler's  Cavalry  Brigade,"  called  by 
the  mounted  men  of  the  brigade  "The  Stud  Horse  Battalion." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  381 

All  of  the  men  of  the  Fourth  regiment  were  put  in  a  company 
and  Private  B.  Miller  of  F  Troop  (Cadet  Rangers),  Sixth  regi 
ment,  assigned  to  its  command  as  "acting  captain."  The  men  of 
the  Fifth  were  in  another  company  with  Sergeant  Dowling  (?) 
of  the  same  regiment,  in  command  as  "acting  captain;"  and  the 
company  composed  of  the  men  of  the  Sixth  regiment  was  com 
manded  by  ex-Cadet  J.  F.  Hook,  F  Troop,  Fifth  regiment,  thus 
forming  a  battalion  of  three  companies,  with  private  James  G. 
Holmes,  an  ex-cadet  also  of  F  Troop,  Sixth  regiment,  acting 
adjutant.  Lieutenant  Aldrich  was  soon  relieved  of  the  command 
of  the  battalion  by  Lieutenant  Foster  of  the  Fifth  Regiment,  and 
he  in  turn  by  other  lieutenants;  and  then  by  Major  Munnerlyn 
of  the  Fifth,  and  Major  T.  B.  Ferguson  of  the  Sixth,  who  fought 
the  battle  gallantly  on  the  23rd  of  August  at  Gravely  Run,  and 
still  later  Lieu  tenant- Colonel  Edwards  of  the  Fifth  took  com 
mand  and  retained  it  until  the  battalion  was  disbanded  in  Co 
lumbia,  S.  C.,  the  following  February ;  the  men  being  ordered  to 
their  companies  in  the  hopes  of  remounting  them.  Adjutant 
James  G.  Holmes  was  the  only  officer,  commissioned  or  acting, 
who  ever  drilled  the  men  of  the  battalion,  and  as  a  military  man 
by  education,  practically  commanded  the  battalion  most  of  the 
six  months  of  its  existence.  The  battalion  did  good  service,  and 
as  it  had  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  mounted  command,  did  some 
hard  marching.  General  Butler,  under  whose  immediate  notice 
the  battalion  deployed,  after  a  mile  and  a  half  at  the  double 
quick  to  reach  the  battlefield  of  Gravely  Run,  August  23rd,  com 
mended  the  battalion  for  its  gallantry,  as  did  also  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Barden,  of  the  Thirteenth  Georgia  infantry,  who  com 
manded  the  dismounted  men  of  both  Butler's  and  Young's  brig 
ades  in  said  fight,  the  regular  commander,  Captain  Henry  Far 
ley,  being  absent  on  sick  leave. 

When  Columbia,  S.  C.,  was  evacuated,  the  battalion  was  again 
organized  with  Lieu  tenant- Colonel  Trapier  of  the  regular  C.  S.  A. 
in  command,  and  Adjutant  Holmes  again  at  his  post.  On  reach 
ing  Charlotte,  N.  C.,  the  men  were  remounted  and  reported  to 
their  companies,  except  Adjutant  Holmes,  who  was  assigned  to 
the  staff  of  Brigadier-General  E.  M.  Law,  commanding  the  re 
mounts  of  both  Butler's  and  Young's  brigades,  until  the  cavalry 
under  General  Hampton  was  overtaken,  the  night  before  Kil- 


382  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Patrick's  camp,  near  Fayetteville,  N.  C.,  was  attacked.  General 
Law  then  commanded  Butler's  brigade,  until  General  Logan,  who 
had  just  been  commissioned  for  the  position,  look  command  of 
the  brigade  on  the  battlefield  the  second  morning  of  Bentonville's 
three  days'  fight;  the  first  day  only  the  cavalry  was  engaged  in 
an  all-day  skirmish,  off  and  on,  as  usual  for  eighteen  days  and 
until  the  armistice  that  led  to  the  surrender  of  Johnson's  army. 

The  above,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  the  "Dismounted  Battalion, 
Butler's  Cavalry  Brigade."  JAMES  G.  HOLMES, 

First  and  Only  Adjutant. 

Macon,  Ga.,  October  12,  '07. 


Lansford,  S.  C.,  July  20,  1908. 

My  Dear  Colonel:  I  have  just  finished  reading  your  graphic 
account  of  the  27th  of  October,  1864,  fight.  I  read  and  wept,  and 
wept  and  read,  and  wondered  how  you  got  up  so  accurate  and 
detailed  account  of  a  game  played  nearly  forty-five  years  ago, 
but  you  failed  to  say  a  word  of  what  was  going  on  north  of  the 
Creek.  Do  you  remember  that  all  the  dismounted  men  of  the 
Sixth,  amounting  to  about  eighty  men,  were  put  under  me,  and  I 
was  in  camp  north  of  Hatches'  Run,  just  below  Burgess's  Mill,  on 
the  27th  of  October,  1864,  and  about  sunrise  I  received  orders 
from  a  courier  to  double  quick  down  said  Run  to  a  line  of  breast 
works,  and  when  I  got  there  the  scouts  were  being  driven  in,  and 
I  hurriedly  covered  the  works — men  five  paces  apart — and  beat 
back  column  after  column /of  the  enemy?  For  three  long  hours 
my  gallant  band  held  the  works  against  perhaps  20  to  1.  For  all 
this  time  I  never  saw  an  officer  or  received  an  order,  and  I  believe 
had  they  run  over  my  little  band  the  enemy  would  have  flanked 
your  left  and  got  between  Hampton  and  Petersburg.  At  last, 
w^hen  I  had  almost  despaired,  I  looked  up  towards  Petersburg  and 
saw  an  old  Confederate  flag  floating  in  the  breeze  and  beneath  it 
a  thousand  true  and  tried  Tar  Heels,  Cook's  brigade,  then  next 
Barksdale's  brigade.  We  received  the  compliments  of  these 
troops,  who  said  we  were  the  best  cavalry  they  had  ever  met. 
General  Hampton  came  over  next  morning  and  counted  fifteen 
dead  Yankees  in  one  bunch. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  383 

I  write  the  foregoing  to  vindicate  my  little  band,  as  no  mention 
has  ever  been  made  of  this  incident.  At  a  reunion  at  Monroe  last 
year  I  met  some  of  the  men  that  came  to  my  relief,  and  that  same 
old  flag  was  presented  to  me  that  I  saw  that  day — 27th  of 
October,  1864.  I  could  not  refrain  from  kissing  its  folds.  I  wish 
this  could  have  been  woven  in  your  description  of  the  fight. 
Wishing  you  success  in  your  work,  I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

J.  M.  HOUGH. 


Saluda,  N.  C.,  July  25th,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

Dear  Comrade:  In  your  last  chapter  to  the  Sunday  News, 
you  spoke  of  the  gallant  act  of  Colonel  F.  M.  Mixson,  in  casting  a 
shell  over  the  breastworks.  There  died  recently  near  Aiken,  a 
true  and  tried  old  veteran  of  an  Edgefield  company,  in  the 
Seventh  South  Carolina  Infantry,  Kershaw's  Brigade,  who  did 
the  same  brave  act.  While  in  the  breastworks  at  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  squatting  down,  a  shell  fell  between  him  and 
another,  cutting  off  the  coattail  of  the  latter — who  jumped  up 
and  ran.  Joseph  Willing  grasped  the  fizzing  bomb  and  threw  it 
on  the  other  side  of  the  works.  It  fell  among  the  numerous  dead 
of  Meagher's  Irish  Brigade,  and  exploded,  throwing  several 
bodies  of  them  in  the  air.  He  was  a  fitting  companion  of  the 
brave  young  soldier  of  the  same  brigade  who  gave  water  to  the 
dying  Federals  between  the  lines. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

B.  H.  TEAGUE. 


384  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALKY,  1861-1865. 


AT  WELDON,  NORTH  CAROLINA 

After  the  battle  of  Reams  Station  on  the  25th  August,  and  the 
battle  of  Burgess's  Mill  on  the  27th  October,  1864,  the  next  most 
formidable  movement  made  by  General  Grant  to  cut  General 
Lee's  communications  was  when  he  sent  Gregg's  division  of 
cavalry  and  the  Fifth  Army  Corps  under  General  Warren,  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  to  capture  Weldon,  N.  C.,  sixty  miles  from 
Petersburg.  Weldon  was  an  important  depot  of  military  supplies, 
so  that  its  capture  and  destruction  would  have  been  a  fatal  blow 
to  General  Lee's  army. 

Weldon  in  those  days  was  a  very  tough  place,  and  was  spoken 
of  by  the  soldiers  as  "Hell's  half  acre,"  and  they  had  it  down 
about  right.  Like  all  railroad  junction  points  in  such  troublous 
times  it  was  a  rendezvous  for  all  sorts  of  people,  but  still  was  an 
extremely  important  depot  for  army  supplies.  General  Warren 
bore  the  reputation,  on  our  side  of  the  line,  as  one  of  the  most 
accomplished,  capable  soldiers  in  General  Grant's  army.  In  pass 
ing  let  me  say,  it  was  this  same  General  Warren  who  was  relieved 
of  his  command  in  the  face  of  the  Confederates  at  or  near  Five 
Forks,  outside  of  Petersburg,  by  General  Sheridan,  and  sent  to  the 
rear.  Warren  had  the  reputation  of  being  not  only  a  fine  soldier, 
but  a  most  cultivated,  refined  gentleman,  belonging  to  the  family 
of  Warrens,  of  Massachusetts,  who,  I  believe,  wrere  always  promi 
nent  in  the  social  and  political  life  of  that  State. 

Sheridan,  on  the  other  hand,  was  "a  little,  abrupt  and  brusque 
man,"  so  his  men  said  when  some  of  them  were  captured,  without 
the  civilizing  advantages  of  early  training,  and  the  gossip  of  the 
times  was  that  Sheridan's  action  in  disgracing  Warren  was 
largely  inspired  by  jealousy.  Warren  is  said  to  have  died  soon 
after  the  war  with  a  broken  heart. 

There  is  no  discounting  the  fact  that  Sheridan  was  one  of  the 
very  ablest  soldiers  produced  by  the  other  side  during  the  war. 
Of  course  I  do  not  vouch  for  the  correctness  and  accuracy  of  the 
above  criticism  of  Warren  and  Sheridan ;  I  give  it  as  it  came  to 
me  after  the  war,  and  I  venture  the  opinion  that  there  are  a  great 
many  grains  of  truth  in  it.  But  coming  back  to  our  narrative. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  385 

Warren  started  out  from  Grant's  lines  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  7th  day  of  December,  1864,  as  we  have  said,  for  the  purpose 
of  capturing  Weldon  and  destroying  it  as  a  depot  of  supplies  for 
General  Lee's  army.  It  was  reported  at  the  time  that  his  corps 
consisted  of  at  least  34,000  men.  (See  War  Eecords.) 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  Captain  Jim  Butler  was 
riding  by  my  side  and  we  happened  to  be  in  front  when  a  Yankee 
scout  started  across  the  road  about  fifty  yards  ahead  of  us.  Cap 
tain  Butler  did  not  say,  "Halt,  surrender,"  but  merely  said,  "Come 
here  to  me,  sir,"  which  seemed  to  paralyze  him  and  he  came  up  to 
us  looking  like  "a  poor  man  at  a  cash  sale."  After  getting  what 
information  we  could  from  him  he  was  sent  to  Libby  Prison. 

General  Warren  struck  the  Petersburg  and  Weldon  Kailroad 
below  Stoney  Creek,  which  is  twenty  miles  south  of  Petersburg. 

General  Hampton's  plan  evidently  was,  judging  from  the  move 
ment  of  his  column,  to  pass  to  the  left  of  Warren's  column  and 
get  in  his  front  from  that  direction.  However,  that  may  be,  no 
doubt  finding  the  crossing  of  the  Nottaway  River  impossible  on 
that  side,  he  withdrew  rapidly,  passed  around  Warren's  rear, 
marched  all  night  and  got  in  Warren's  front  at  Bellefield  and 
Hicks'  ford  on  the  Meherrin  River.  At  Hick's  ford  we  found 
Lieutenant- Colonel  John  Garnett  with  a  small  detachment  in 
command  of  a  few  siege  guns  in  battery  commanding  the  plateau 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Meherrin  River  near  Bellefield.  The 
day  after  we  reached  Hicks'  ford  General  Butler  was  directed  to 
barricade  Clark's  ford,  three  miles  below  Hicks'  ford.  He 
detailed  Captain  J.  J.  Bunch  of  Company  B,  Sixth  South  Caro 
lina  Cavalry,  with  about  600  men,  to  do  this  work.  This  was  on 
the  9th  December,  1864.  I  remember  taking  a  dispatch  that  day  to 
General  Hampton  and  passed  some  of  A.  P.  Hill's  infantry,  and 
can  never  forget  how  I  saw  the  blood  spurt  from  the  feet  of  his 
barefooted  and  ragged  soldiers  marching  over  the  frozen  ground. 
Captain  Bunch  spent  the  entire  day  with  the  detachment,  cutting 
trees  across  the  ford,  rolling  rocks  and  other  obstructions  in  the 
river,  so  that  it  was  very  effectually  barricaded.  And  now  the 
sequel,  so  full  of  tragic  and  apparently  impossible. 

During  the  day  Warren  had  pushed  the  head  of  his  column  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Bellefield;  meantime  had  torn  up  the  rail 
road  for  nearly  twenty  miles  towards  Stony  Creek,  burnt  the 

25— B.  C. 


386  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

crossties  and  twisted  the  rails  into  all  kinds  of  shapes.  He 
deployed  a  heavy  line  and  was  moving  across  the  plateau  in  front 
of  Bellefield,  evidently  with  the  purpose  of  farcing  a  passage 
across  the  Meherrin  and  making  a  determined  attack  on  Hicks' 
ford,  the  horse  artillery,  batteries  of  Hart  and  McGregor  aided 
Garnett's  guns,  and  a  strong  line  of  dismvXinted  cavalry  convinced 
him  that  his  venture  was  a  desperate  one,  and  after  the  inter 
change  of  civilities,  which  was  rather  fierce  for  a  time,  Warren 
apparently  came  to  the  conclusion  that  "prudence  was  the  better 
part  of  valor"  and  begun  his  retreat  to  Grant's  lines.  He  did  not 
reach  Weldon,  his  objective  point. 

General  Butler's  division,  which  consisted  of  exactly  1,426  men, 
without  unsaddling  our  horses  was  bivouacked  at  and  around 
Hicks'  ford.  General  Butler  and  W.  H.  F.  Lee  had  their  head 
quarters  for  the  night  in  a  large  house  in  the  suburbs  of  Hicks' 
ford.  Of  course,  we  had  no  tents,  not  even  tent  flys.  The  weather 
was  terrifically  cold;  it  had  rained  during  the  early  part  of  the 
night,  followed  by  a  cold  northwest  wind  which  converted  the 
rain  into  a  sheet  of  sleet  and  ice.  The  men  were  old  soldiers 
enough  to  build  big  fires,  but  the  poor  horses  suffered  terribly. 
Icicles  were  hanging  from  the  saddle  blankets  and  equipments. 
This  was  the  situation  at  three  o'clock  that  night  or  morning, 
when  General  Butler  received  orders  (it  having  been  known  that 
Warren  was  making  tracks  for  Grant's  lines)  to  move  his  division 
at  once  to  Clark's  ford,  remove  the  barricade  placed  there  during 
the  day  by  Captain  Bunch,  cross  the  river  and  get  after  Warren. 
Imagine,  if  possible,  anything  more  trying  and  dismal  than 
moving  out  in  that  hour  in  such  weather  to  remove  the  barriers 
in  the  ford  we  had  so  thoroughly  placed  there  during  the  day 
before  to  stop  Warren,  cross  to  the  north  side  of  the  Meherrin 
River  and  join  in  the  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Yankees. 

One  of  the  couriers  heard  General  Butler  remark,  as  they  came 
out  of  the  house  to  mount,  "Well,  boys,  if  we  survive  this  weather 
and  this  night,  we  need  not  fear  the  Yankees."  As  I  have  said, 
the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale  from  the  northwest  over  sleet  and  ice. 
But  we  had  to  go.  We  moved  down  to  Clark's  ford,  spent  the 
better  part  of  the  morning  removing  large  logs,  rocks  and  other 
impediments  and  got  over  about  midday  and  went  straight  for 
Warren's  retreating  Yankees.  We  took  in  a  large  number  of 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  387 

prisoners,  abandoned  wagons,  arms  and  other  accoutrements. 
That  portion  of  Virginia  was  celebrated  for  its  large  stores  of 
apple  brandy.  A  large  number  of  Warren's  men  got  drunk, 
would  first  rob  and  then  set  fire  to  private  residences  occupied  by 
women  and  children.  I  suppose  it  was  almost  impossible,  in  the 
demoralized  condition  of  his  troops,  for  Warren  and  his  officers 
to  prevent  it.  So  our  scouts  were  instructed  that  when  they 
caught  Yankees  in  the  act  of  robbing  and  burning  to  take  the 
vandals  by  the  arms  and  legs  and  swing  them  in  the  flames,  drunk 
or  sober.  Such  are  the  terrors  of  war. 

This  drastic  form  of  redress  soon  got  out  among  the  Yanks 
and  had  the  desired  effect.  That  night,  the  10th  December,  it 
rained  in  torrents,  so  much  as  it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep 
our  camp  fires  going.  As  we  were  without  tents  this  situation 
was  not  very  attractive.  That  night  and  next  day  Warren  had 
made  good  his  escape  inside  of  Grant's  lines. 

We  returned  to  Bellefield,  where  we  put  up  temporary  winter 
quarters  of  log  huts,  etc. 

And  now  comes  another  interesting  phase  of  this  celebrated 
raid.  General  Hampton  placed  General  Butler  in  charge  of 
rebuilding  the  railroad  to  Stony  Creek.  A  novel  duty  for  a 
cavalry  officer,  but  the  general  went  at  it  with  his  usual  vigor. 
He  put  eight  hundred  or  one  thousand  men  in  the  woods  cutting 
and  hauling  crossties,  clearing  of  the  roadbed,  etc.  Our  friends, 
the  enemy,  had  not  only  burnt  the  crossties,  but  by  heating  the 
rails  had  twisted  them  into  every  conceivable  shape;  they  had 
to  be  straightened  out  by  the  same  heating  process.  We  got  about 
six  miles  of  road  rebuilt  in  about  two  weeks,  and  General  Butler 
went  over  it  on  the  engine.  Meantime  we  had  heard  of  the  where 
abouts  of  the  superintendent,  putting  him  in  charge  and  assisting 
him  in  every  way  possible.  The  superintendent  got  General  But 
ler  to  impress  300  negroes.  We  put  them  to  work,  and  from  his 
long  experience  as  a  railroad  man,  he  would  finish  and  operate 
five  miles  of  road  while  we  were  reconstructing  one  mile.  At  any 
rate  we  got  the  road  in  condition  for  transportation — a  gap  of 
nearly  twenty  miles — in  a  surprisingly  short  time  when  all  the 
difficulties  to  be  overcome  are  considered,  and  trains  were  again 
running  there  from  Weldon  nearly  to  Petersburg. 


388  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Another  catastrophe  might  be  interesting  in  that  connection. 
Warren's  soldiers  had  done  their  work  of  destruction  very  com 
pletely  when  an  unusual  flood  of  rain  came  along  and  reinforced 
their  devilment.  When  the  engineer  had  prepared  the  timbers  for 
the  bridge  across  the  Xottaway  and  had  some  of  them  in  position 
for  the  bridge  and  trestling  they  wrere  washed  away  by  a  flood, 
the  like  of  which  was  never  seen  before  by  the  citizens  of  that 
section.  More  timbers  were  gotten  out  and  the  trestling  and 
bridge  completed  in  a  very  short  time. 

While  on  this  raid  General  Warren  had  34,000  men  to  A.  P. 
Hill's  and  Hampton's  16,000  all  told. 

A  dispatch  from  General  Meade  to  General  Grant,  exhibiting 
some  nervousness,  adds:  "If  Warren's  men  will  fight  and  we 
have  any  luck  Warren  ought  to  repulse  him." 

But  Warren  was  actually  repulsed  by  our  cavalry  and  horse 
artillery,  notwithstanding  reinforcements  were  sent  to  help  him — 
get  away. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  389 


SHADBURNE  AND  THE  NEGRO 

BY  GEORGE  D.  SHADBURXE,  CHIEF  or  WADE  HAMPTON'S  SCOUTS. 

It  was  the  winter  of  1864-65.  The  armies  of  Lee  and  Grant  lay 
inactive  in  front  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond.  Grant  had 
ordered  Sheridan  to  depopulate  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  that 
gallant  (?)  general,  after  marching  up  and  down  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  driving  women  and  children  before  him  in  hunger  and 
want,  had  left  nothing  but  a  blackened  wilderness  behind  him; 
and  then,  feeling  that  he  had  obeyed  his  orders  to  the  letter,  dis 
patched  to  Grant:  "I  have  devastated  the  valley  until  a  crow 
flying  over  it  must  carry  his  rations  with  him." 

Amongst  the  most  obnoxious  of  the  raiders  that  ran  riot  in  our 
country  at  that  time  was  a  company  of  negro  cavalry  that 
patrolled  the  road  from  City  Point  to  Norfolk.  I  had  long  been 
anxious  to  get  at  them ;  for  if  there  was  anything  that  Ave  hated 
worse  than  another,  it  was  a  negro  soldier.  So  on  the  evening  of 
December  22,  1864,  we  crossed  the  Blackwater.  The  day  had  been 
one  of  heavy  rains,  but  toward  night  the  heavens  cleared  and  it 
became  intensely  cold.  We  concealed  ourselves  as  best  we  could  in 
the  woods  beneath  the  banks  of  the  Blackwater  and  built  fires  and 
made  ourselves  comfortable.  Two  men  were  sent  to  the  telegraph 
road,  ten  miles  distant,  to  cut  the  telegraph  wires,  as  we  knew 
that  would  bring  the  black  rascals  out. 

The  country  through  which  we  passed  to  reach  our  objective 
point  was  one  of  treachery  and  disloyalty.  A  company  of  home 
guards  had  been  formed  there,  and  at  the  toot  of  a  horn  they 
would  assemble,  day  or  night,  and  there  was  then  certain  death 
to  the  intruder  unless  he  was  too  smart  for  them.  Hence  any 
exposure  in  our  movements  would  have  worked  our  ruin.  We 
remained  in  our  place  of  concealment  until  the  hour  of  midnight, 
then  we  stole  cautiously  forth,  in  single  file,  leading  our  horses  so 
as  to  keep  them  completely  under  control,  and  slowly  advanced. 
The  ground  by  this  time  was  frozen  hard,  so  that  we  left  no 
traces  of  our  march  behind.  Thus  quietly  we  passed  through  this 
sleeping  land  of  treachery,  and  at  dawn  of  the  23d  we  were  well 


390  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ensconced  in  our  place  of  ambush.  It  was  in  a  heavy  wood  of 
"old  field  pines,"  the  original  forest  having  been  denuded  many 
years  before.  These  pines  were  as  thickly  studied  as  their  bulk 
would  permit.  About  ten  paces  from  and  above  the  road  we  lay 
safely  concealed.  Some  distance  back  of  us  the  road  crossed  a 
small  creek  spanned  by  a  wooden  bridge.  There  one  of  our 
number  was  placed,  with  instructions  to  fire  when  the  column  had 
passed,  unless  he  heard  infantry  approaching ;  then  we  in  ambush 
were  to  fire  upon  the  passing  force,  rise  from  concealment,  give 
the  Rebel  yell,  and  charge  into  the  open  road;  then  mount  our 
horses  and  pursue  until  all  the  blackguards  were  killed  or  cap 
tured.  Our  number  was  sixteen,  composed  of  eleven  regular 
scouts,  four  Confederates  that  I  picked  up  for  the  occasion,  and 
one  man  in  blue,  who  had  come  to  us  by  chance.  He  was  a  tall, 
handsome  fellow,  fully  equipped  and  mounted  upon  a  magnificent 
horse  as  black  as  night,  with  knightly  trappings  and  a  Mexican 
steel  bit,  a  veritable  Bucephalus.  He  had  come  to  us  and 
requested  that  we  receive  him  as  one  of  our  band,  which  we  did, 
but  kept  our  eyes  on  him. 

The  regular  scouts  were  Sloan,  of  North  Carolina;  Tanner, 
Smith  and  Simmonds,  of  Georgia;  Mcllwain  and  Rife,  of  Mis 
sissippi;  Waller  and  Latham,  of  Alabama;  Cleel,  of  Texas; 
— ,  of  -  — ,  and  Captain  Shadburne,  of  Texas, 

chief  of  scouts. 

The  day  was  icy  cold,  and  with  great  difficulty  the  men  kept 
above  the  freezing  point;  but  they  were  used  to  such  hardships, 
and  did  not  complain.  In  order  to  while  away  the  time  and  keep 
the  blood  in  circulation,  they  told  stories,  boxed,  and  jumped  up 
and  down,  slapping  their  hands  about  them,  and  forgot  their 
hunger,  for  we  had  nothing  to  eat.  Our  horses  were  tethered  in 
the  woods  about  one  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of  the  rendezvous. 

Slowly  the  time  passed  until  the  hour  of  two  o'clock;  then  we 
heard  the  not- far-distant  tread  of  approaching  cavalry,  and  at 
once  every  man  assumed  his  proper  place,  lying  upon  the  ground 
face  downward.  The  pulse  of  each  scout  quickened,  his  blood 
coursed  freely,  and  his  heart  palpitated  anxiously  at  the  thought 
of  the  coming  strife,  and  he  clutched  tightly  his  trusty  weapon 
and  uttered  a  hasty  prayer,  feeling  the  premonitory  shudder 
always  experienced  by  the  brave  soldier  just  before  the  shock  of 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1805.  391 

battle.  On  came  the  unsuspecting  foe — by  twos  they  rode — until 
they  were  abreast  of  us,  about  fifty  in  number.  We  were  eagerly 
ready,  every  gun  was  cocked  and  presented ;  all  waited  anxiously 
for  the  signal  shot  of  our  man  at  the  bridge.  The  column  passed, 
and  still  no  shot  was  fired.  Could  it  be  that  infantry  was  coming, 
and  that  the  woods  would  be  scoured?  Such  was  my  second 
thought,  and  the  moment  was  ominous;  for  if  such  were  the 
position,  all  would  be  lost.  Then  the  signal  shot  was  fired.  Our 
man  had  waited  for  the  rear  guard  to  pass.  The  enemy  was 
beyond  our  reach,  and  our  only  hope  was  to  mount  and  charge. 
This  was  ordered,  and  every  man  hastened  to  his  horse,  but  all 
did  not  charge ;  the  four  volunteers  remained  behind.  The  eleven 
and  our  friend  in  blue  bore  down  upon  the  sable  foe,  who  stood 
his  ground  and  poured  toward  us  a  galling  fire.  Then  I  com 
manded  "Major  Jones,"  with  his  "battalion,"  to  flank  to  the  left. 
Simultaneously  five  of  my  men  diverged  in  the  woods  to  the  left, 
and  all  charged  gallantly  forward  and  reformed  not  twenty  paces 
from  the  foe.  Then  the  Rebel  yell  was  sounded,  and  right  into 
their  ranks  we  dashed,  pouring  a  deadly  volley  into  their  very 
faces.  A  moment  more  and  the  enemy  broke  and  fled  wildly,  the 
scouts  keeping  in  hot  pursuit.  On  they  ran,  and  the  rout  was 
complete.  As  each  scout  overtook  a  negro,  he  sounded  his  death 
knell  and  continued  on.  Thus  for  six  miles  we  pursued  them, 
when  no  longer  was  there  a  negro  in  sight,  and  the  day  was  won. 
With  one  long-continued  Rebel  yell  we  wheeled  about  and  pur 
sued  the  backward  march. 

In  counting  our  losses  and  the  results  of  victory,  we  found  that 
we  had  lost  our  friend  in  blue.  He,  at  the  first  onslaught,  when 
the  charge  was  sounded,  dashed  madly  to  the  front,  firing  as  he 
went,  and  never  stopped  until  in  the  very  midst  of  the  enemy, 
where  his  body  was  literally  riddled  with  bullets.  Poor  fellow, 
he  was  a  brave  man,  even  though  a  deserter.  He  fills  a  nameless 
grave  like  many  another  of  that  cruel  war.  This  was  our  only 
loss,  and  the  only  other  casualty  was  the  fall  of  McHwain.  In 
making  the  charge  at  full  speed  his  horse  stumbled  and  fell, 
throwing  the  rider  over  his  head.  He  (Mcllwain)  was  a  six- 
footer,  weighing  about  two  hundred  pounds,  and,  as  his  fall  was  a 
heavy  one,  he  was  badly  bruised,  but  no  bones  were  broken;  and, 
though  hors  de  combat,  he  was  in  the  pursuit  to  the  finish  and 


o92  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

enjoyed  it.  In  the  affray  we  killed  eleven  negroes,  wounded  a 
number  more,  captured  two  white  prisoners,  twenty  horses,  and  a 
fine  ambulance  containing,  among  other  things,  six  dozen  eggs 
and  five  gallons  of  good  whiskey,  all  of  which  we  held  as  a  New 
Year's  present. 

It  was  but  two  hours  till  nightfall,  and  we  made  a  hasty  retreat 
for  the  Blackwater,  where  we  arrived  at  sundown.  The  bridge 
over  the  Blackwater  had  been  partially  destroyed  sometime 
before,  there  remaining  only  the  framework  and  a  few  planks. 
We  had  been  able  to  cross  on  these  the  previous  night;  but  now, 
with  the  ambulance  and  additional  horses,  and  night  coming  on, 
we  were  indeed  in  a  dilemma.  We  hastily  strung  the  planks  in 
three  rows,  two  rows  of  single  ones,  just  the  wTidth  of  the  ambu 
lance  apart,  for  the  wheels  of  that  vehicle  to  revolve  upon,  and 
another  row  of  double  planks  over  which  we  led  the  horses.  With 
much  difficulty  we  succeeded  in  getting  all  the  horses  safely  over, 
save  one  attached  to  the  ambulance,  which  fell  from  the  side  of 
the  bridge  and  pulled  with  him  that  conveyance  itself.  Finally, 
with  much  exertion,  we  extricated  the  horse,  and  he  floundered 
to  the  other  shore,  and  thither  we  propelled  the  ambulance.  Then 
followed  a  division  of  the  spoils,  and  it  was  an  hour  in  the  night 
before  we  sought  food  and  shelter.  We  had  fasted  sixteen  hours 
and  were  fatigued.  We  greatly  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  our 
Virginia  friends.  The  citizens  were  overjoyed  at  our  victory. 
Many  of  the  horses  we  had  captured  had  been  stolen  from  these 
citizens.  They  were  returned,  and  the  owners  were  hearty  in 
their  thanks  and  laudation. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  393 


THE  POWER  OF  PRAYER 

San  Francisco,  October  3,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State 

of  South  Carolina. 

MY  DEAR  COMRADE  :  You  have  solicited  a  chapter  from  me  for 
your  forthcoming  book,  which  is  complimentary  in  the  extreme, 
and  with  great  pleasure  and  considerable  gratification,  but  mainly 
as  a  thankful  tribute  to  our  Divine  Master,  who  delivered  me 
from  the  enemy,  the  following  is  offered : 


It  was  in  the  winter  of  1864,  both  armies,  that  of  Lee  and 
Grant,  were  resting  for  the  final  struggle  soon  to  follow.  The 
army  of  Lee  was  holding  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  while  that  of 
Grant  beleaguered  both  of  these  cities  and  encompassed  the  army 
of  Lee  and  continuously  bombarded  our  position  from  his  iron 
monsters.  Tired  and  weary  from  long  years  of  service,  the  scout 
naturally  sought  a  slight  surcease  from  his  sorrows  and  struggles, 
hence  a  furlough  of  fifteen  days  was  accorded  to  Shadburne  and 
his  next  friend,  the  gallant  James  M.  Sloan,  of  North  Carolina, 
than  whom  there  was  no  braver  soldier  or  truer  friend;  and  on 
or  about  the  5th  of  November  they  started  on  their  pilgrimage  of 
love  and  affection.  Near  Skinker's  Ford  on  the  Kappahannock 
was  a  large  two-story  brick  house  that  commanded  a  view  of  the 
surrounding  country,  and  in  that  house  dwelt  the  family  of  the 
widow  McMuran,  consisting  of  her  son,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
and  her  two  daughters,  Misses  Gertrude  and  Mary  Virginia,  and 
of  all  God's  noblest  and  sweetest  heroes  and  heroines  of  dear  old 
Virginia,  this  family  was  amongst  the  most  exalted.  The  young 
ladies  were  beautiful,  refined  and  charming  and  of  a  most  lovely 
character,  and  the  writer  always  had,  and  still  has,  a  lingering 
and  longing  affection  for  them;  he  loved  them  profoundly,  and, 
of  course,  loved  their  mother  and  brother.  Many  a  happy 
moment  of  rest,  almost  perfect  rest,  he  had  found  under  their 
protective  watchfulness  when  he  for  a  few  hours  was  "off  duty.'' 


394  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Naturally  this  beloved  home  was  their  destination.  They  took 
the  cars  to  the  vicinity  of  Fredericksburg,  crossed  the  Rappa- 
hannock,  and  on  foot,  on  the  6th,  reached  the  hallowed  spot. 
Their  coming  had  not  been  expected,  but  they  were  none  the  less 
happily  received,  and  their,  or  at  least  Shadburne's,  cup  of  roseate 
bliss  was  nearly  full,  for,  as  has  been  said,  the  young  ladies  were 
very  dear  to  him.  No  attempt  will  be  made  to  portray  their 
happiness  during  their  stay;  suffice  it  to  say  after  a  period  of 
two  weeks  they  bade  their  friends  adieu  and  trudged  their  way  to 
Fredericksburg,  crossed  the  river  after  dark  in  a  small  boat,  and 
found  the  city  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  in  an  attempt  to 
escape  therefrom  were  captured,  and  great  was  their  chagrin,  fear 
and  trepidation,  the  reasons  for  which  were  these :  Not  long  prior 
thereto,  to  wit:  September  16,  all  Grant's  beeves,  2,486  head,  had 
been  captured,  and  that  fact  had  been  traced  by  the  enemy  to  the 
chief  of  scouts,  Shadburne,  and  for  that  and  a  few  other  feats 
they  had  no  love,  but  had  it  "in  for  him,"  and  now  he  was  in  their 
hands,  he  running  the  blockade,  his  pockets  full  of  letters  for  "En 
the  Lines,"  a  diary  of  past  events,  on  his  person,  and  his  identity 
sure  to  be  discovered,  and,  worst  of  all,  his  furlough  expired,  the 
campaign  about  to  open,  his  services  needed  and  he  a  prisoner 
doubtless  to  be  held  as  a  spy ;  all  this  dawned  on  him  the  moment 
of  his  capture,  and  really  the  situation  seemed  desperate.  The 
difficulty  was  to  avoid  identification.  Shortly  after  their  capture, 
the  cavalry  battalion  moved  off  up  the  road  towards  Marie's 
Heights,  leaving  their  two  prisoners  under  the  guard  of  one  man, 
and  instantly  a  prospect  of  escape  presented  itself,  which  the 
writer  was  quick  to  grasp  and  undertake.  Leaning  his  head  upon 
Sloan's  shoulder,  he  feigned  sickness  and  whispered  in  Sloan's 
ear  to  "draw,"  believing  that  Sloan  had  done  the  same  as  himself, 
retained  a  revolver;  the  intention  was  to  shoot  or  overpower  the 
guard,  leap  into  his  saddle  and  flee,  but  just  then  back  came  the 
battalion  and  that  prospect  was  gone;  but  something  must  be 
done,  and  that  quickly.  Continuing  the  ruse  of  sickness,  Shad 
burne  requested  leave  to  go  down  to  the  canal  for  water,  but  a 
canteen  was  presented  him  instead,  and  that  chance  of  getting  rid 
of  those  objectionable  letters  and  that  tell-tale  diary  was  gone. 
Still  being  very  sick,  and  with  his  head  upon  Sloan's  shoulder,  he 
suddenly  fainted  (?),  falling  close  to  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  395 

and  as  quick  as  thought  threw  that  diary  under  the  gutter,  and 
instantly  his  nerves  were  better,  the  faintness  left  him  and  he  was 
almost  himself  again,  but  that  sickness  must  continue  until 
further  relief  was  obtained.  The  good-hearted  ( ? )  enemy,  the 
generous  ( ? )  enemy,  for  once  was  imposed  on,  for  they  seemed 
to  believe  that  sick  marts  plea,  and  kindly  ordered  him  up  behind 
one  of  their  troopers,  and  thus  seated,  Sloan  walking  near,  they 
started  for  the  enemy's  ships  in  the  river  below  the  city,  but  soon 
halted  in  front  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  all  dismounted 
and  seated  themselves  on  the  sidewalk.  It  was  now  very  dark, 
only  the  stars  gave  a  twinkle  of  light.  Presently  Shadburne 
crawled  over  to  Sloan  and  laid  his  head  on  Sloan's  knees  and 
whispered  to  him  for  his  letters,  then  he  stealthily  approached  a 
fence  to  an  adjoining  yard  and  began  pushing  letters  under  the 
fence,  when  a  savage  dog  began  a  terrific  barking  from  the  other 
side  of  that  fence,  and  orders  came,  "Get  away  from  that  fence," 
which  were  quickly  obeyed,  and  once  more  the  sick  man  was  seek 
ing  comfort  from  his  friend  Sloan;  and  there  he,  silently,  beneath 
his  overcoat,  dug  up  a  brick  and  buried  all  the  remainder  of  those 
letters,  and  then  his  faintness  was  gone.  While  riding  behind 
the  guard  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  get  him  to  "drap  back," 
which  he  willingly  did,  and  the  resolution  was  instantly  formed 
to  force  him  from  the  saddle,  leap  therein  and  run  for  life,  pro 
vided  he  dropped  far  enough  back,  but,  alas,  just  as  the  propitious 
moment  was  about  to  arrive  the  order  came,  "Close  up,"  and  that 
prospect  had  vanished.  Thus  it  is  frequently  in  life,  just  as  the 
opportunity  has  about  presented  itself  it  vanishes  into  space  and 
leaves  the  heart  sick.  During  the  rest  at  the  church  Shadburne 
and  Sloan,  in  whispers,  had  agreed  to  their  story,  which  was  sub 
sequently  repeated  to  the  enemy.  Presently  the  order  came  "to 
mount,"  and  we  were  soon  off  for  the  enemy's  boats,  where  we 
shortly  arrived  and  were  escorted  to  the  presence  of  Colonel 
Sumner,  the  commanding  officer,  and  our  interrogation  com 
menced,  Sloan  first,  which  ran  about  thus : 

"What  is  your  name,  sir?" 

"James  Taylor,  sir." 

"What  is  your  command?" 

"Courier  at  General  Hampton's  headquarters,  sir." 

"Who  is  that  other  man?" 


396  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"That  is  Sergeant  Jones,  G.  D.  Jones,  sir." 

"His  command?" 

"Sergeant  of  couriers  at  General  Hampton's  Headquarters,  sir." 

"Does  he  ever  go  scouting?" 

"Yes,  sir,  sometimes." 

"With  how  many  men?" 

"Sometimes  twenty,  sometimes  forty,  sometimes  one  hundred, 
sir." 

"What  is  that  I  see  in  your  bosom?" 

"A  pistol,  sir." 

"Why  did  you  not  surrender  that,  and  why  did  you  keep  it?" 

"Because  I  wished  to  keep  it,  it  is  mine ;  and  I  thought  maybe  I 
might  need  it  to  shoot  my  guard,  sir." 

"The  h— 1  you  say." 

Then  the  interrogation  of  "that  other  man"  began: 

"What  is  your  name?" 

"G.  D.  Jones." 

"Your  command?" 

"Sergeant  of  couriers  at  General  Hampton's  headquarters." 

"Do  you  ever  go  scouting,  and  if  so  with  how  many  men?" 

"Yes,  and  with  sometimes  twenty,  sometimes  forty,  sometimes 
one  hundred  men." 

"Yes,  I  understand;  that  will  do." 

And  we  were  remanded. 

That  Yankee  guard  behind  whom  "that  other  man"  rode  had 
promised  a  Yankee  overcoat  for  that  night,  and  "great  our  wonder 
grew,  and  hope  once  more  our  senses  knew,"  but  we  have  waited 
these  forty  years  and  that /Yankee  and  that  Yankee  overcoat  are 
still  a  vision  of  the  unknown.  Perhaps  that  Yankee  forgot  ( ? ) 
his  promise. 

All  that  night  and  the  next  day  our  vessel  steamed  on  towards 
Fortress  Monroe,  where  we  arrived  the  succeeding  night ;  and  all 
night  we  tossed  upon  our  humble  couch  of  blankets  on  the  floor. 
Again  and  again  the  past  and  present  were  reviewed,  and  again 
and  again  we  reached  out  for  the  future,  the  future  of  freedom 
and  God's  sunlight,  or  that  other  future  of  the  dungeon,  or  per 
haps  death,  ignominious  death,  the  death  of  a  spy.  A  thousand 
plans  of  escape  were  devised,  but  none  seemed  feasible.  It  would 
not  do  to  spring  overboard  and  swim  for  it,  the  chances  were  one 
to  one  thousand,  that  proportion  was  against  us,  so  we  must  wait. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  397 

"Everything  comes  to  him  who  waits."  The  second  night,  while 
we  lay  at  Fortress  Monroe,  another  chance  presented  itself.  Call 
ing  the  guard  to  him  Shadburne  asked  permission  to  go  to  the 
toilet,  which  was  readly  granted,  the  guard  escorting  him.  When 
in  the  dark  and  out  of  hearing  of  the  other  men,  Shadburne  said 
to  the  guard,  "Get  me  a  little  boat,  set  me  adrift  in  it,  and  allow 
me  to  get  one  hundred  yards  away,  and  then  give  the  alarm  if 
you  wish  and  I'll  take  my  chances;  I'll  give  you  one  hundred 
dollars  if  you  will  do  it."  The  guard  agreed  and  disappeared  in 
the  darkness,  ostensibly  for  the  coveted  purpose.  Shadburne 
returned  to  his  blankets,  and  was  soon  summoned  before  the  com 
manding  officer,  the  guard  had  betrayed  him.  He  was  taken  into 
a  private  room,  stripped  to  the  skin  and  searched,  and  there,  in 
his  pocketbook  was  found  a  slip  of  paper,  a  promissory  note  in 
favor  of  Shadburne,  and  the  secret  was  out.  "Well,"  said  the 
officer,  "Shadburne,  at  last  we  have  you,  good,  good,"  clapping  his 
hands  in  delight.  Shadburne,  as  cool  as  possible,  answered :  "Do 
you  think  you  have  Shadburne  ?  Do  you  think  he  is  fool  enough 
to  let  you  get  him  ?  That  note,  it  is  true,  was  obtained  from  him, 
but  to  get  him  is  another  thing."  The  officer  responded :  "That 
will  not  do,  you  are  identified ;  we  know  you,  and  you  will  answer 
to  General  Grant."  Thereupon  Sloan  and  Shadburne  were  heavily 
manacled  together  and  placed  away  down  in  the  deepest  part  of 
the  hold  of  the  steamship  Daniel  Webster  and  started  for  Grant's 
headquarters  near  City  Point  on  the  James  River.  All  day  that 
vessel  went  on  her  course,  and  all  day  our  hearts  were  heavy  as 
lead.  About  noon  a  poor  Irishman  brought  us  lunch,  and,  lying 
down  on  our  pallet  beside  us,  offered  his  heartfelt  sympathy,  and 
it  was  sweet  indeed.  May  God  reward  him  for  that  noble  deed ! 
If  we  could  always  reflect  upon  the  good  we  can  do  our  fellows 
by  just  a  little  sympathy,  our  hearts  would  not  be  so  cold  and 
we  would  the  more  readily  respond  to  our  nobler  selves,  and  we 
would  be  much  the  happier  in  making  others  happy. 

"Oh,  friends!     I  pray  tonight 

Keep  not  your  kisses  for  my  dead,  cold  brow, 
The  way  is  lonely ;  let  me  feel  them  now. 
Think  gently  of  me,  I  am  travel  worn, 
My  faltering  feet  are  pierced  with  many  a  thorn. 
Forgive,  oh  hearts  estranged !    forgive,  I  plead, 
When  dreamless  rest  is  mine  I  shall  not  need 
The  tenderness  for  which  I  long  tonight." 


398  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

We  were  taken  to  City  Point,  Grant's  headquarters,  and  placed 
on  board  the  prison  barge  "Walkil,"  heavily  manacled.  Our 
berth,  the  lower  one,  faced  the  west  and  from  it  was  a  small 
window  about  two  feet  square,  and  from  this  we  could  see  Grant's 
headquarters  and  much  of  his  army.  In  our  stateroom  were  two 
of  the  enemy,  who  had  the  upper  berth.  The  first  day  of  our 
stay  on  the  "Walkil"  was  harrowing  indeed.  When  the  enemy 
was  not  in  our  stateroom  we  would  go  there  and  commune,  and 
about  our  first  act  was  to  kneel  in  prayer  and  ask  the  assistance 
of  God.  Shadburne  then  and  there  solemnly  declared  that  if 
delivered  from  this  prison  he  would  ever  after  attribute  his  deliv 
erance  to  Almighty  God,  and  that  promise  has  been  most  faith 
fully  kept  by  him.  It  was  not  long  during  this  first  day's  impris 
onment  before  Shadburne,  from  his  silver  penholder,  had  devised 
a  key  with  which  he  could  easily  detach  the  manacles,  but  this 
was  done  in  strictest  secrecy  and  \vhen  the  enemy  were  away  from 
that  stateroom.  The  first  night  of  our  stay  on  the  barge,  while 
sitting  disconsolately  by  the  cabin  fire,  a  swarthy,  blackeyed, 
handsome  fellow,  one  of  the  enemy,  passed  before  us,  when  Shad 
burne  called  quietly  to  him,  "Williams,  come  here."  He  came  and 
sitting  down  by  Shadburne  said,  "How  in  the  hell  do  you  my 
name?"  Shadburne  responded,  "Your  brother  George  is  one  of 
my  men."  This  was  true,  as  was  then  discovered.  The  two 
brothers  had  become  separated  in  their  infancy,  one,  George, 
remaining  in  Georgia,  and  he  was  one  of  Shadburne's  scouts,  and 
the  other  had  been  taken  to  Illinois,  and  thus  they  were  arrayed 
against  each  other,  and  in  like  manner  many  a  brother  fought 
brother  or  even  father  contended  against  son  in  that  awful  war. 
Williams,  who  we  subsequently  discovered  was  our  roommate,  at 
once  became  our  steadfast  friend.  He  whispered  to  Shadburne, 
"I'll  take  those  damned  things  off  you,"  and  went  away,  spoke  to 
the  officer  in  command  and  presently  returned  and  removed  the 
irons,  little  knowing  that  we  could  have  done  the  same,  had  we 
dared  to  do  it.  The  next  day  the  officer  in  command  of  the  barge 
was  changed  to  an  Irish  lieutenant  and  he  at  once  had  us  more 
heavily  ironed  than  before,  and  our  key  was  useless.  Our  first 
elation  was  over,  but  we  were  not  disconsolate,  retiring  to  our 
cabin,  with  no  fear  from  Williams,  who  had  made  for  us  a  friend 
of  his  cabin  mate,  or  for  the  latter,  we  again  prayed  most  earn- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  399 

estly,  then  meditated,  when  presently  Shadburne's  penknife  was 
plying  most  industriously  to  the  steel  notches  that  held  the  spring 
of  the  manacle  on  Sloan's  wrist,  and  at  each  stroke  a  small  glit 
tering  particle  of  steel  fell  therefrom.  Sloan  slapped  his  thigh 
and  exclaimed,  "Everlasting  perseverance  is  the  price  of  liberty !" 
We  cut  and  cut,  but  it  was  of  no  avail,  that  spring  would  not  let 
go,  and  Williams,  not  having  the  ear  of  the  officer,  no  key  could 
be  obtained ;  but  still  we  were  not  disconsolate,  some  other  means 
would  be  devised;  so  Williams,  his  friend  Darden,  Sloan  and 
Shadburne  held  a  council  of  war,  from  which  and  by  reason  of 
which  a  bar  of  iron  was  soon  evolved.  Williams  and  Darden 
went  from  the  room  and  the  labor  of  breaking  our  ornaments 
began ;  we  labored  and  greater  the  labor  grew,  much  greater  than 
the  other  fellows  knew,  but  they  soon  returned  and  Darden  said, 
"Haven't  you  those  damned  things  off  yet?"  Shadburne 
answered,  "No,  we  need  some  solid  something,  an  axe,  for  instance, 
to  rest  the  shank  of  this  infernal  thing  on  before  we  can  knock  it 
off."  Without  another  word  Darden  sprang  through  the  door  and 
disappeared  and  after  a  short  while  returned  with  the  coveted 
axe  minus  a  helve  and  placing  it  on  the  floor  said,  "Williams, 
go  out  and  tramp  up  and  down  the  hall  like  hell !"  and  away 
went  Williams  and  tramped  like — the  devil,  and  with  one  huge 
stroke  by  Darden  we  were  released  from  our  grip  of  steel,  and 

saying  "Hide  it,  hide  it,"  he  went  forth  tramping  like  h well, 

like  a  horse.  We  hid  our  engines  of  war  beneath  the  mattress 
of  our  bed,  reclasped  the  broken  cuff,  wound  it  with  a  handker 
chief  and  went  forth  whistling  "Dixie."  The  first  part  of  our 
prayers,  to  wit,  the  removal  of  the  irons,  had  been  answered  and 
granted,  but  we  never  ceased  praying  and  acting  and  as  the 
means  of  escape  were  presented  we  grasped  them.  We  were  ever 
on  the  alert.  Several  days  had  passed  in  the  exploit  above  men 
tioned  and  the  greatest  secrecy  had  to  be  maintained,  one  false 
step  and  all  would  be  lost.  Our  plan  of  escape  was  soon  devised. 
We  must  have  a  rope  to  let  ourselves  down  from  the  upper  deck, 
where  our  cabin  was  situated ;  we  must  have  a  dark,  tempestuous 
night,  and  we  must  have  a. small  boat,  and  for  all  these  things  we 
devoutly  prayed  long  and  earnestly,  all  the  time  promising  that 
if  we  did  escape  we  would  ascribe  all  to  God,  and  for  one.  again 
let  it  be  repeated,  Shadburne  has  never  had  any  doubt  about  his 


400  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

deliverance  being  by  Divine  intervention.  Day  after  day  we 
maintained  the  most  perfect  composure,  even  sang  Confederate 
songs  for  the  enemy  and  related  stories  of  the  war  to  them.  Night 
after  night,  until  quite  late  they  would  group  themselves  around 
us  to  be  thus  beguiled,  and  all  thoughts  of  escape  was  farthest 
from  their  minds,  but  we  waited,  watched  and  prayed,  and  on  the 
twelfth  night  our  prayers  were  granted.  That  evening  water 
was  drawn  from  the  river  by  a  rope  and  bucket,  and  the  bucket 
and  rope  were  left  by  the  water  tank;  we  were  looking  on  and 
were  much  pleased.  The  weather  was  then  clear,  but  by  ten 
o'clock  that  night  the  heavens  were  overcast  and  there  was  rumb 
ling  thunder  in  the  distance,  and  the  wind  began  to  rise  and 
presently  the  old  barge  was  rocking  visibly  with  the  rising  tide 
and  the  restless  waters,  and  anon  great  drops  of  rain  began  to  fall, 
the  storm  was  imminent.  Now  all  was  still  save  the  elements,  the 
army  slept,  so  did  our  guard,  even  to  our  two  friends  in  the  upper 
berth;  then  we  stole  gently  forth  from  our  cabin  for  a  drink  of 
water  ( ? ) ,  but  regaled  ourselves  with  that  rope  and  not  from  the 
bucket,  and  telling  Sloan  to  return  to  his  couch,  Shadburne  soon 
fastened  the  rope  to  a  post  near  the  cabin  and  cautiously  joined 
Sloan;  then  finding  that  all  was  still  quiet,  our  preparations 
began.  The  night  was  pitchy  dark  and  our  maneuvres  had  to  be 
made  most  stealthily.  We  had  retained  our  saddle  pockets  that 
we  had  carried  with  us  in  lieu  of  valises,  and  from  these,  after 
stripping  ourselves  to  our  underclothing,  we  took  some  light 
clothing,  placing  the  same  in  the  bosom  of  our  undershirts,  then 
Shadburne  let  himself  through  the  window  of  the  stateroom  and 
after  receiving  the  boots  of  each  and  fastening  them  to  the  end  of 
rope,  assisted  Sloan,  who  was  a  little  fellow,  through  that  window, 
and  there  we  stood  ready  for  the  descent.  After  scanning  the 
surroundings  and  still  finding  that  all  was  well,  Shadburne  went 
down  hand  over  hand  and  was  soon  in  the  water  beside  the  barge : 
here  he  rested  but  a  moment,  when  down  came  Sloan,  and  once 
more  the  twain  were  side  by  side,  this  time  under  the  gunwale  of 
"The  Walkil."  The  water  was  icy  cold,  it  will  be  remembered  it 
was  in  November,  but  our  blood,  was  warm  and  we  thought 
nothing  of  the  cold.  By  this  time  the  elements  were  in  wild  com 
motion,  the  thunder  roared,  the  lightning  flashed  and  the  waves 
rolled  high,  but  the  water  came  only  to  our,  or  rather  Shadburne's 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  401 

chin,  but  Sloan,  poor  fellow,  could  not  touch  bottom,  but  he  was 
an  expert  swimmer,  and  could  easily  take  care  of  himself.  Near 
"The  Walkil"  was  another  vessel,  a  scow  of  some  kind,  and 
fastened  to  the  rear  of  this  were  two  little  boats,  that  had  not  been 
raised  from  the  water  that  night,  contrary  to  custom,  and  we 
"made"  for  these  boats,  and  soon  found  that  one,  the  smaller  one, 
was  chained  and  locked  to  the  scow,  but  the  other  one  was  only 
fastened  by  a  rope,  which  was  easily  detached,  but  there  were  no 
oars,  and  oars  we  must  have ;  feeling  about,  we  soon  found  stairs 
leading  down  from  the  scow  to  the  water,  Shadburne  ascended 
these  and  soon  came  down  with  the  coveted  oars,  and  as  happy  as 
larks  and  as  brave  as  sheep,  we  seated  ourselves  in  our  gon 
dola  ( ? )  and  Shadburne  pulling  at  the  oars,  new  work  for  him, 
and  Sloan  steering,  equally  novel  work  for  him,  the  twain  pushed 
out  into  the  muddy  James.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  before 
we  were  shoaled  in  mud.  Springing  out,  one  on  each  side,  we 
descended  into  that  filthy  stuff  up  to  our  midriffs,  but  by  bearing 
down  on  the  side  of  the  boat  and  pushing  at  the  same  time  we 
managed  to  propel  that  craft,  it  seemed  to  us  for  about  two  hun 
dred  yards,  when  once  more  we  were  afloat;  but  discovered  right 
ahead  of  us  a  dark  object  on  the  water,  which  at  first  we  feared 
was  the  patrol,  and  we  were  about  to  abandon  our  boat  and  swim 
for  it  when  we  discovered  it  was  a  buoy  and  all  was  well.  With  a 
few  lusty  strokes  we  were  in  the  channel,  having  passed  near 
enough  to  one  of  Grant's  vessels  to  touch  the  anchor  chains;  and 
within  five  minutes  more  we  were  on  shore  and  free. 

An  old  log  here  projected  into  the  river,  on  this  we  stepped, 
washed  the  mud  from  our  persons  as  best  we  could,  pulled  on  our 
outer  clothing — pants,  jackets  and  boots — knelt  down  and  pro 
foundly  returned  thanks  to  God  for  our  liberty.  Just  then  the 
storm  broke  and  the  moon  came  out,  and  knowing  the  country 
passably  well,  we  struck  out  for  other  haunts,  for,  cold  as  it  was, 
these  were  too  hot  for  us.  All  night,  that  is  the  balance  of  the 
night,  we  marched,  and  at  daybreak  struck  the  main  highway 
and  just  missed  a  battalion  of  the  enemy.  All  day  we  lay  con 
cealed  in  the  woods,  wet,  tired  and  hungry.  All  day  it  rained 
and  by  night  we  were  a  sorry-looking  pair.  Shadburne  had 
cramps  so  he  could  scarcely  walk  and  Sloan  was  not  in  much 
better  condition.  Slowly,  carefully,  stealthily,  we  crawled  past 

26— B.   C. 


402  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  enemy's  picket  line.  It  was  very  dark,  and  within  a  short 
time  we  were  at  the  house  of  a  poor  Irishman  named  Walsh,  near 
the  Black  Water  Swamp.  Here  we  were  able  to  get  something 
to  eat,  though  it  was  short  rations,  as  the  enemy  had  stolen  about 
all  the  poor  fellow  had.  Be  it  said  that  this  man  was  then  a 
prisoner  for  some  fancied  offense  on  that  infernal  "Walkil,"  but 
his  good  wife  received  us  kindly  and  gave  us  the  best  comfort 
within  her  power.  After  a  brief  stay  we  went  forth  into  the 
dismal  forest,  and  the  night  was  so  dark  that  we  frequently  had 
to  crawl  and  feel  for  the  road.  About  midnight  we  came  to  the 
house  of  the  Lilly  family,  several  brothers  and  sisters,  good  and 
hospitable  people,  with  whom  the  scout  was  ever  at  home,  and 
knocking  for  admission,  we  were  soon  ushered  into  warmth  and 
comfort. 

Next  morning,  after  partaking  of  a  good  breakfast,  being  once 
more  warm  and  dry,  we  were  about  starting  for  our  camp  in  the 
Black  Water  Swamp  when  one  of  our  scouts,  Eife,  of  Mississippi, 
rode  up  and  was  greatly  delighted  to  find  us.  Shadburne.  who 
was  much  the  worse  for  his  adventure,  mounted  Rife's  horse  and 
the  trio  struck  out  for  that  little  camp,  where,  after  about  one 
hour,  they  arrived  and  there  was  a  camp  meeting  then  and  there, 
and  Shadburne  had  to  make  a  speech  to  his  men  and  recount  all 
recent  adventures,  whereupon  every  man  swore  he  would  never 
surrender,  and  they  kept  that  oath  and  are  still  Hampton's  scouts, 
and  the  writer  is,  with  loyalty  to  the  great  cause, 

GEO.  D.  SHADBURNE, 

Chief  of  Scouts. 

This  October  3rd,  15)08,  at  San  Francisco. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  403 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  J.  D.  HOGAN,  SCOUT 

Atkins,  Arkansas,  October  30,  1908. 

DEAR  COLONEL  BROOKS:  I  will  give  you  a  little  sketch  as  I 
saw  it  in  and  around  Columbia  in  1865. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  February  of  that  year.  The 
renowed  city  was  arrayed  in  all  its  beauty  and  grandeur,  with 
bunting  draped  and  Confederate  flags  flying  from  balcony  and 
window  along  Main  street  and  the  residences  of  the  city;  from 
the  old  State  House  the  colors  waved  to  the  breeze  as  if  signalling 
to  every  son  of  South  Carolina  to  rally  to  the  defence  of  the  dear 
old  town  and  its  old  men,  women  and  children.  The  streets  were 
lined  with  faces  of  men  and  women  furroAved  with  anxiety  and 
care,  with  here  and  there  the  beautiful  faces  of  the  young  and 
fair;  boys  passed  apace  with  haste  and  the  natural  excitement  of 
youth ;  masses  of  negroes  flocked  everywhere.  At  intervals  along 
the  sidewalk  familiar  faces  appeared :  Richard  O'Neale,  Cathcart, 
Robert  Bryce,  Charles  Janney,  Thomas  Davis,  Henry  Davis, 
Edward  Hope,  Jas.  L.  Clark,  Drs.  John  and  Edward  Fisher, 
John  Black,  James  D.  Tradewell,  John  Bausket,  Theo.  Stark, 
Drs.  J.  W.  Parker,  D.  H.  Trezevant,  R.  W.  Gibbes,  Rev.  P.  J. 
Shand,  Rev.  William  Martin,  John  McKenzie,  Dr.  T.  J.  Good- 
wyn,  William  Pinckney  Stark,  Chancellor  J.  P.  Carroll,  and 
many  others  whose  names  cannot  be  recalled  in  the  lapse  of  years. 

As  Butler's  division  disembarked  from  the  long  train  which 
had  brought  them  from  Virginia,  the  order  came  to  mount,  and 
as  the  column  reached  Main  street  it  was  an  inspiring  sight  to  see 
these  old  men  congregating  in  groups  and  congratulating  them 
selves  that  Columbia  was  now  safe.  That  Sherman  would  be 
whipped  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State  did  not  permit  of  a  ques 
tion.  But,  in  fact,  little  was  known  of  Sherman's  programme — 
rumors  were  floating  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  It  was  thought 
that  Charleston  would  be  attacked  first,  and  then  Columbia  next ; 
absolutely  nothing  was  known. 

Butler's  division  went  into  camp  on  the  Lexington  side  of  the 
river,  and  I  was  ordered  by  the  general  to  take  my  party  of  scouts 
and  locate  Sherman's  advance,  ascertain  his  movements,  and 


404  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

report  at  the  earliest  moment.  My  guides  were  Sanders,  of 
Orangeburg,  and  Ben  Knots,  of  Lexington.  We^mounted  and  set 
out,  crossed  the  Congaree  bridge  into  Lexington,  and  made  a 
forced  march  for  Edisto  bridge.  We  passed  the  "Red  Store," 
eighteen  miles  south  of  the  city,  turned  southwest  and  reached 
Knot's  mill,  where  we  stayed  all  night.  The  next  morning  we 
mounted,  made  another  rapid  march  for  the  river,  where  we 
found  Colonel  Keitt's  regiment  guarding  the  Edisto  bridge.  We 
were  informed  that  some  of  Sherman's  bummers  had  appeared 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bridge  the  day  before  and  were  driven 
back  by  Colonel  Keitt's  men,  and  there  was  no  time  to  tarry.  We 
dismounted.  I  took  Shoolbred,  Colvin,  Dulin,  Guffin  and  San 
ders,  and  gave  Adolphus  Kennerly  orders  to  take  charge  of  our 
horses  and  remain  at  the  bridge  for  further  instructions,  unless 
the  regiment  should  receive  orders  to  fall  back,  and  in  the  event 
of  that  they  should  fall  back  to  Knot's  mill  and  there  await  my 
arrival.  We  were  soon  across  the  river  and  out  of  the  swamp 
and  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  Now,  I  depended  on  my 
guide,  who  proved  to  be  familiar  with  the  roads  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  citizens.  Making  our  way  through  woods 
and  fields,  crossing  lagoons  and  boggy  swamps,  we  were  soon  in 
close  proximity  to  the  enemy.  We  came  across  several  citizens 
who  were  hiding  out  from  the  Yanks  and  obtained  some  valuable 
information  from  them  in  reference  to  Sherman's  movements. 
After  remaining  in  the  neighborhood  the  following  night  and  a 
part  of  the  next  day,  I  was  assured  that  he  had  abandoned 
Charleston  and  that  he  would  make  an  attack  on  Columbia  the 
next  morning.  Just  as  th£  sun  was  rising  we  reached  the  river, 
only  to  find  the  bridge  burnt  and  still  smoking,  and  without  much 
delay  we  crossed  on  the  smoking  timbers,  hastened  over  a  distance 
of  five  miles  and  reached  the  home  of  Miss  Martin.  On  entering 
her  house  I  was  surprised  to  find  three  Federal  robbers.  Miss 
Martin  was  sitting  by  her  parlor  fire  crying,  and  a  man  in  a 
Yankee  uniform  standing  about  six  feet  high,  with  a  Colt's 
revolver  in  his  hand,  demanding  her  money.  I  disarmed  him  at 
once.  Shoolbred  disarmed  another.  From  an  adjoining  room 
Miss  Martin  drew  my  attention  to  another  at  her  back  gate.  I 
disarmed  him  as  he  was  making  an  effort  to  mount  his  horse  for 
flight.  As  I  was  in  need  of  a  horse  I  mounted  it  hurriedly  and 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  405 

gave  orders  to  the  boys  to  bring  the  prisoners  to  Knot's  mill, 
where  I  expected  to  get  my  own  horse  and  proceed  to  Columbia 
as  fast  as  horseflesh  could  carry  me.  The  captured  horse  was  a 
good  traveler,  and  I  crossed  streams  and  creeks  and  left  the  tall 
Lexington  pines  behind  me  at  a  rapid  rate.  Passing  Knot's  mill 
on  a  panting  horse  I  saw  the  miller,  a  negro,  and  asked  him  if 
he  had  seen  any  soldiers.  " Yas,  sah !  Whole  company  of 
Wheeler's  men  up  at  the  house  now !"  The  house  could  not  be 
seen  from  the  mill,  and  I  urged  my  horse  forward,  thinking  that 
I  would  soon  be  mounted  on  my  own  horse  and  carrying  the 
information  that  Sherman  would  attack  Columbia  and  not 
Charleston.  To  my.  surprise,  however,  I  rode  right  into  about 
one  hundred  of  Sherman's  bummers,  and  they  had  my  horse  by 
the  bridle  and  a  dozen  or  more  Spencer  rifles  presented  at  my 
breast.  I  asked  them  if  they  were  not  Wheeler's  men.  "No. 
What  command  do  you  belong  to?"  "The  Twentieth  Army 
Corps"  was  the  reply.  I  saw  that  discretion  was  the  better  part 
of  valor,  so  I  gave  up  my  brace  of  Colt's  pistols.  I  had  scarcely 
dismounted  before  they  had  taken  off  a  pair  of  fine  brass  spurs 
presented  me  by  my  friends  in  Columbia,  a  penknife  from  my 
vest  pocket,  and  began  searching  me,  \vhen  I  protested  in  no 
uncertain  terms.  I  told  the  officers  that  they  would  be  made 
prisoners,  and  I  would  be  released  in  a  very  short  time,  and  I 
demanded  the  same  treatment  that  would  be  accorded  them.  My 
knife  was  returned,  and  the  officer  gave  orders  to  move  imme 
diately.  They  mounted  me  on  a  slow,  miserable  old  horse  and 
took  up  their  line  of  march  back  to  Miss  Martin's.  Arrived  there 
late  in  the  evening  to  find  the  place  covered  with  blue  bellies,  I 
was  closely  guarded,  and  about  dusk  the  army  went  into  camp  for 
the  night.  I  was  conducted  to  General  Williams'  headquarters, 
where  I  found  him  and  his  staff  assembled  around  a  pine-log  fire. 
The  guard  announced :  "General,  here  is  a  prisoner  we  captured 
today."  About  the  first  question  asked  was:  "What  were  you 
doing  in  our  lines?"  "You're  in  ours;  I  supposed  the  Edisto 
formed  your  line."  After  many  other  questions  I  told  him  "that 
it  was  very  mortifying  for  me  to  state  that  I  had  called  by  to 
bid  Miss  Elizabeth  Knot  good-bye,  and  was  disarmed  in  her 
presence."  "What  army  do  you  belong  to?"  "The  Confederate 
army!"  "What  corps?"  "Hampton's."  "What  division?" 


406  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"Butler's."  "Where  is  Hampton  and  Butler?"  "I  cannot  answer 
that  question,  General,  but  you  will  find  them  in^the  proper  place 
at  the  right  time."  After  many  questions  propounded  in  like 
manner,  I  was  carried  to  General  Sherman's  headquarters,  being 
only  a  short  distance  away.  I  was  accompanied  by  some  of  Gen 
eral  Williams'  staff,  one  of  whom  made  himself  very  conspicuous 
in  tantalizing  me  at  General  Williams'  headquarters.  He  said, 
"General,  here  is  a  full-blooded  'Johnny  Reb'  who  was  caught  in 
our  lines  this  morning."  The  general,  who  was  sitting  on  a  camp 
stool  by  the  fire,  turned  to  me  and  said :  "What  was  your  business 
inside  my  lines?"  "I  was  not  inside  your  lines,  General.  Your 
men  had  disarmed  me  and  were  inside  of  our  lines,  and  I  mis 
took  them  for  friends."  "What  command  do  you  belong  to?" 
"General  Butler's  division."  "Where  is  Butler?"  "I  cannot 
answer."  "What  State  are  you  from?"  "The  State  of  South 
Carolina." 

During  this  time  a  prisoner  or  deserter  was  brought  in  before 
Sherman.  He  was  from  Lexington  and  gave  his  name  as  Trotter. 
He  had  gotten  away  from  the  "Rebels"  at  Columbia,  and  was 
giving  all  the  information  he  could  in  regard  to  location  and 
strength  of  our  army.  I  rebuked  him  and  denounced  him  as  a 
cowardly  traitor  unworthy  the  name  of  a  South  Carolinian.  The 
officer  who  made  himself  so  conspicuous  said,  "Why,  Johnny  Reb, 
I  believe  you  would  fight!"  I  rose  from  the  camp  stool  I  was 
sitting  on  and  answered:  "I  will  fight  you  for  my  liberty,  and 
you  can  select  the  weapons,  and  I  will  select  my  second  from 
your  friends."  He  turned  and  twisted,  some  of  his  friends 
laughed  and  seemed  vastly '  amused  at  his  discomfiture.  The  gen 
eral  passed  the  incident  by  unnoticed,  and  turning  to  me  asked 
what  was  the  strength  of  our  army  at  Columbia.  I  could  not, 
nor  would  I  if  I  could,  answer  that  question.  I  replied,  "You  will 
find  an  army  there  that  will  defend  the  city  and  defeat  your 
army."  He  replied,  "I  admire  your  pluck,  but  j^our  judgment  is 
bad;  it  will  all  be  over  by  the  first  of  June."  "I  may  be  a  novice 
in  military  tactics,  but  I  have  an  abiding  faith  in  the  justice  of 
our  cause,"  I  replied.  The  answer  came  back,  "A  man  of  your 
determination  should  be  engaged  in  a  better  cause."  "The  cause 
is  good  enough  for  me,  and  if  it  goes  down  I  will  go  down 
with  it." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  407 

Supper  at  this  juncture  was  announced,  and  the  general  cor 
dially  invited  me  to  join  them.  It  proved  to  be  a  nice  spread  on 
the  ground  at  the  back  of  his  tent,  and  I  enjoyed  it.  I  was  closely 
guarded  during  the  night  in  company  with  some  twenty  other 
prisoners.  I  fully  intended  to  make  my  escape  during  the  night 
should  opportunity  offer,  but,  unfortunately  for  me,  a  special 
guard  was  placed  over  me.  Early  the  next  morning  the  command 
took  up  its  line  of  march  for  the  Saluda  River,  crossing  it  west 
of  the  city,  which  move  turned  our  right  wing  and  Columbia  was 
sacked  and  destroyed.  There  is  to  this  day  a  scar  on  the  west  end 
of  the  State  House  left  there  by  a  shell  fired  from  the  high  hills 
of  Lexington.  The  left  wing  of  Sherman's  army  crossed  a 
narrow  strip  of  Lexington  County,  then  crossed  Broad  River 
into  Fairfield  County,  thus  pursuing  their  onward  march  to 
Winnsboro,  and  going  into  camp  on  the  red  hills  northeast  of  the 
town  on  the  Rocky  Mount  Road. 

During  the  night  I  had  a  very  severe  hemorrhage,  caused  from 
a  wound  through  the  lungs  received  a  year  before.  After 
destroying  Columbia  the  army  proceeded  to  Rocky  Mount  and 
camped  there.  A  surgeon  examined  me  and  declared  "that  I 
would  never  be  able  to  fight  them  any  more,"  so  I  was  placed  on 
parole.  It  was  a  great  relief,  for  had  they  searched  me  they 
would  have  found  on  my  person  passes  from  Generals  Robert 
Edward  Lee,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  Wade  Hampton,  M.  C.  Butler, 
Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  and  had  they  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
it  may  have  caused  a  very  serious  trouble. 

I  am,  dear  Colonel, 

Yours  very  truly, 

J.  D.  HOGAN. 


408  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


J.  C.  COLVIN,  SCOUT,  OF  NOKESVILLE,  VA. 

One  of  the  highest  honors  I  had  paid  me  during  the  war  was 
by  General  Hampton,  although  I  was  complimented  by  General 
E.  M.  Law  before  on  the  battlefield  of  Bentonville  amid  the  rattle 
of  musketry  and  the  roar  of  cannon. 

I  did  feel  a  pride  when  General  Hampton  selected  me  to  go 
around  Sherman's  army  near  Columbia  to  ascertain  if  the  build 
ings  had  been  burned  by  the  enemy.  General  Hampton  gave 
me  and  my  detail  breakfast  from  his  own  table  the  morning  we 
started  for  the  city.  This  detail  was  selected  from  the  different 
sections  through  which  I  had  to  travel,  one  from  south  of  Colum 
bia,  between  that  point  and  where  Sergeant  Hogan  was  captured. 
This  comrade  and  one  other  was  sent  in  advance.  They  were 
captured  by  the  Yankees,  and  soon  after  recaptured  when  Gen 
eral  Hampton  ran  Kilpatrick  into  the  swamp.  I  had  just  reached 
the  command  the  morning  of  the  Fayetteville  charge.  On 
reporting  to  General  M.  C.  Butler,  the  first  order  given  me  was  to 
stop  the  wagon  train  and  check  the  stampede ;  the  next  to  charge. 
When  the  brave  little  band  swept  by  I  fell  in  the  rear,  and  the 
first  man  I  saw  was  General  Hampton  with  his  pistol  leveled  at 
a  Yankee,  the  next  instant  proved  his  aim  true.  Hugh  Scott 
says,  in  The  Veteran,  "General  Hampton  hewed  them  down  with 
his  sabre."  He  is  in  error,  the  facts  are  he  shot  them  both.  I 
was  the  nearest  man  to  him  and  an  eyewitness  to  the  shooting  of 
both  men.  I  emptied  both'  of  my  pistols  and  struck  a  Yankee  as 
he  passed  me  with  one  that  I  had  just  fired. 

I  will  give  you  a  short  sketch  of  my  last  war  trials.  We  left 
our  command  with  a  few  of  our  party,  Guffin  and  our  leader 
accompanied  by  another  whose  command  I  cannot  now  recall, 
and  a  detail  of  men  numbering  some  twenty  or  more,  to  go 
around  Sherman's  right.  Occasionally  we  would  send  back  a 
courier  with  a  report.  I  was  taken  sick  on  the  way  and  the  boys 
persuaded  me  finally  to  ride  back  with  the  courier,  fearing  that  I 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Yankees.  We  started  back,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  we  began  meeting  soldiers  from  Lee's 
army.  These  men  stated  that  Lee  had  surrendered.  At  first  we 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  409 

thought  them  deserters.  We  pushed  forward.  The  faster  we 
marched  the  faster  these  soldiers  came,  until  at  last  the  courier 
met  a  man  he  knew;  this  man  confirmed  the  report  of  Lee's  sur 
render.  The  rumor  was  well  founded,  for  the  courier  knew  this 
soldier  to  be  a  truthful  man.  I  turned  to  the  courier  and  asked : 
"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  He  answered,  "I'm  going  home." 
I  then  said,  "I  am  going  with  you."  He  did  not  object,  and 
turned  out  to  be  a  splendid  fellow.  I  remained  with  him  until  I 
had  rested  up,  then  I  started  for  the  fighting  lines.  The  first 
day's  travel  I  ran  into  a  body  of  Yankees  before  I  knew  it,  but 
concealed  myself  in  a  cluster  of  pines,  standing  meantime  by  my 
horse  to  keep  him  quiet  until  night  came  on,  fearing  that  his 
noise  might  attract  the  attention  of  the  enemy.  When  night  came 
the  Yanks  were  all  around  me,  so  I  camped  on  the  spot,  hoping 
to  leave  some  time  during  the  night,  but  I  did  not  awake  until 
their  bugle  sounded  just  before  day.  Then  it  was  that  I  hustled 
from  there,  keeping  to  the  woods  and  fields  until  I  thought  that  I 
was  out  of  reach  of  the  Yankees.  Here  I  met  a  citizen,  an  old 
gentleman  on  his  way  to  the  camp  to  try  and  have  a  horse  restored 
which  had  been  taken  from  him.  I  found  him  all  right.  He 
directed  me  to  his  house  and  to  ask  his  sister  to  give  me  some 
thing  to  eat  and  to  feed  my  horse.  He  told  me,  also,  that  he  had 
two  negro  boys  whom  he  could  trust.  I  had  seen  enough  of  the 
negro,  though,  and  was,  consequently,  always  on  my  guard.  The 
sister  was  a  charming  lady.  She  told  me  to  put  up  my  horse  and 
that  she  would  prepare  a  breakfast.  I  asked  her  to  let  me  take 
some  food  into  the  pines,  and  she  consented  to  this.  One  of  the 
black  boys  soon  came  with  a  bountiful  breakfast,  and  on  his 
return  the  Yanks  were  carrying  off  her  side-saddle  and  a  side 
of  bacon.  The  lady  of  the  house  notified  me  to  be  on  the  lookout. 
Riding  over  to  the  edge  of  the  pines,  I  could  see  the  blue  jackets 
in  every  direction.  Returning,  I  hid  my  horse  in  the  thicket, 
selecting  a  place  dense  and  well  under  cover.  About  two  hours 
before  sunset  the  Yanks  made  a  dash  for  my  hiding  place,  and 
about  two  hundred  yards  to  where  my  horse  was  tied.  They  took 
him  in  charge.  Sixty  or  seventy  feet  away,  up  in  a  pine  tree,  I 
lay  concealed  and  settled  myself  as  close  as  possible.  The  Yanks 
rode  under  and  around  me,  but  for  the  time  being  they  never 
realized  that  I  was  nearer  heaven  than  they  were.  Their  guide 


410  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

was  one  of  the  old  gentleman's  trusted  darkeys.  Between  sunset 
and  dark  I  .left  my  roost  and  cautiously  made. my  way  to  the 
house.  He  met  me  with  outstretched  arms  as  if  I  had  been  his  son, 
and  had  a  glass  of  mint  julip  made  for  me  as  soon  as  I  entered 
the  room.  He  took  care  of  me  that  night  and  at  daybreak  woke 
me,  gave  me  breakfast,  and  himself  piloted  me  across  the  main 
thoroughfare,  thus  giving  me  a  homeward  start  afoot.  That 
day's  journey  made  my  feet  sore,  but  I  soon  crossed  into  Virginia 
and  stopped  at  a  farmhouse  to  rest.  The  farmer  informed  me 
that  he  understood  that  horses  could  be  bought  cheap,  as  Sher 
man's  army  was  on  its  march  to  Washington.  I  had  a  little  over 
$50.00  in  silver  which  I  had  exchanged  with  the  Yanks  for  Con 
federate  money,  thinking  it  would  be  more  convenient  for  them 
in  prison.  This  money  I  gave  to  the  farmer  in  order  that  he 
might  purchase  two  horses.  This  he  did;  I  took  one  and  gave 
him  the  other. 

The  most  thrilling  experience  I  witnessed  during  the  war  was 
on  this  lonely  jaunt,  not  having  surrended  (and,  furthermore,  I 
have  not  yet,  as  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  the  Jeffersonian  doctrine,) 
with  no  other  companion  than  my  horse,  I  made  my  way  through 
forest  and  fields,  following  the  main  road  and  sleeping  upon  the 
bosom  of  mother  earth  when  chance  offered.  On  one  occasion  it 
was  reported  that  the  Yanks  had  threatened  to  hang  any  person 
found  with  a  horse  branded  "U.  S."  I  did  not  know  at  what 
moment  I  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  However, 
this  animal,  as  if  by  instinct,  avoided  the  Yanks  and  carried  me 
safely  home  in  Northern  Virginia.  There  he  spent  the  balance 
of  his  days  and  helped  to  furnish  bread  for  the  family. 

I  reached  home  May  25th,  1865.  I  found  my  father  and  mother 
working  in  the  garden.  Neither  knew  me  at  first  glance,  but 
when  I  smiled  and  spoke  to  them,  mother  recognized  me  and 
with  tears  of  joy  clasped  me  to  her  arms.  My  father  stood  by 
gazing  upon  me  in  mute  admiration.  The  long-lost  boy  had  been 
found.  Much  had  been  demanded  of  them  for  that  holy  cause. 
Two  sons  slept  under  the  soil  of  Missouri — they  had  served  in  the 
army  of  General  Price — another  sleeps  in  the  family  enclosure  at 
Amosville,  having  died  from  wounds  received  in  Stuart's  night 
raid  on  Catlett's  Station ;  he  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Vir 
ginia  cavalry. 

JOHN  C.  COLVIN,  Scout, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  411 


WARREN'S  RAID 

The  winter  of  1864  was  notably  one  of  the  coldest  for  many 
years,  and  Virginia  in  winter  is  not  a  warm  climate,  and  Decem 
ber  of  that  year  took  the  palm  for  that  kind  of  atmospheric 
phenomena.  The  scout  of  long  experience  can  almost  guess  when 
the  enemy  is  about  to  move,  and  so  it  was  just  prior  to  December 
7,1864. 

The  writer  for  several  dark  and  tempestuous  nights  just  prior 
to  that  date  had  been  "in  the  lines"  and  saw  that  the  enemy  were 
unusually  active  for  that  season  of  the  year.  Rations  for  many  days 
were  being  cooked,  wagons  were  being  loaded,  arms  and  accoutre 
ments  were  gotten  into  readiness  and  a  general  stir  was  prevalent. 
This  was  the  condition  of  Warren's  corps,  hence  Shadburne  dis 
patched  to  General  Hampton :  "The  enemy,  Warren's  corps,  are 
about  to  move;  will  keep  you  advised."  And  in  verification  of  the 
prediction,  on  the  7th  day  of  December,  1864,  he  started  south 
ward  with  about  30,000  men  of  all  arms  of  the  service,  and  in  the 
best  possible  condition.  What  a  contrast  they  presented,  as  they 
marched  proudly  forth  from  their  lines,  to  our  poorly  equipped, 
ragged,  half  starved  little  army,  composed  of  Butler  and  his  men, 
about  2,000,  and  A.  P.  Hill's  corps,  about  14,000,  who  were  all  we 
could  muster  to  meet  that  formidable  array.  That  morning 
Shadburne  and  Isaac  Curtis,  of  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  command 
(in  blue),  rode  through  the  enemy's  column,  commanding  the 
stragglers  to  "close  up,"  and  Shadburne  reported  to  General 
Hampton,  "That  Warren's  destination  was  doubtless  Weldon," 
and  that  he  had  his  corps,  inclusive  of  Gregg's  cavalry,  numbering 
30,000  men.  Then  he  hastily  returned  alone,  again  passing 
through  Warren's  line  of  march,  and  assembled  his  scouts,  about 
twenty  men,  heavily  armed  and  well  mounted  and  each  man  a 
host  in  himself,  and  quickly  was  in  pursuit.  It  was  dreadfully 
cold ;  it  had  rained  for  many  days  and  was  now  sleeting  and  rain 
ing  at  intervals,  and  great  icicles  had  accumulated  on  the  limbs 
of  the  trees  of  the  dark  forest  through  which  led  the  line  of 
march,  so  that  all  day  the  cracking  of  fallen  branches,  broken  by 
this  load  of  ice,  sounded  as  the  discharge  of  firearms. 


412  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Our  ambition  was  to  harass  and  destroy  the  enemy's  rear,  and 
we  did  it  quite  satisfactorily.  In  our  first  charge  we  captured  a 
number  of  the  enemy  and  each  fellow  had  a  canteen  of  apple  jack 
(brandy),  which  we  joyously  seized  and  absorbed,  so  that  pres 
ently  we  were  quite  warm,  and  as  our  fervor  grew,  so  grew  our 
appetite  for  the  enemy,  not  that  we  longed  for  him  on  account 
of  his  apple  jack,  simply  because  we  loved  him  so.  Fast  and 
furious  became  our  charges  and  each  time  many  of  the  enemy 
told  no  tales;  prisoners  we  did  not  want,  when  we  had  enough 
apple  jack,  hence  we  took  but  few.  About  noon  we  galloped  up 
to  a  wayside  house,  and  seeing  a  lady  walking  up  and  down  her 
front  porch,  wringing  her  hands  in  great  agony,  the  writer 
jumped  his  horse  over  the  paling  fence  and  inquired  of  her  what 
was  the  matter,  and  soon  took  in  the  horrible  situation,  which  we 
leave  the  reader  to  conjecture  (which  was  common  to  our  beloved 
enemy),  when  she  pointed  to  a  company  of  New  York  Zouaves 
(devils  incarnate),  not  far  distant,  by  the  roadside.  Instantly 
rang  out  loud  and  clear  the  command,  "Charge  'em  boys;  charge 
'em,  and  give  'em  hell."  That  charge  left  that  company  of  New 
York  Zouaves  to  tell  no  tales;  their  lust  for  booty  and  beauty 
doubtless  gave  them  to  the  devil.  The  sequel  to  this  occurrence 
was  that  when  the  infernal  vandals  returned,  whipped  by  Butler 
and  his  men,  they  burned  this  poor  woman's  home;  first,  they 
robbed  her  of  woman's  proudest  inheritance,  then  they  stripped 
her  of  her  home  and  turned  her  out  in  the  pitiless  storm.  Mag 
nanimous  enemy  !  Chivalrous  enemy  !  It  is  no  wonder  the  South 
is  a  "Solid  South."  God  trust  she  will  ever  remain  so !  With 
her  chivalric  recollections,  and  the  remembrance  of  the  aftermath 
of  carpetbaggism  and  reconstruction,  how  could  her  self-respect 
permit  her  to  be  otherwise? 

But  let  us  return  to  Warren  and  Butler  and  his  men.  As  the 
day  advanced,  the  cold  increased  and  by  nightfall  it  was  intense, 
and  that  night  five  of  our  pickets  were  frozen  to  death  on  their 
posts.  Notwithstanding  this  condition  of  the  weather,  General 
Hampton  marched  all  night  of  the  7th  and  next  morning  was  in 
front  of  Warren  at  Bellefield  with  General  Butler  and  his  men, 
and  Warren,  finding  the  streams  swollen  and  the  fords  barricaded, 
after  a  brief  engagement  with  these  determined  veterans,  con 
cluded  that  retreat  was  wisdom,  if  not  valor,  and  after  destroying 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  413 

many  miles  of  our  railroad,  on  the  9th,  commenced  his  backward 
march,  burning  and  destroying  everything  destructible  within  his 
reach.  All  that  he  had  accomplished  within  two  days  with  his 
30,000  men  was  the  tearing  up  of  about  twenty  miles  of  our  rail 
road,  which  we  soon  repaired,  and  the  ravishing,  pillaging, 
burning  and  destroying  of  many  homes.  Thus  he  had  imitated 
his  illustrious  fellow-soldier,  Crowvatious  Sheridan,  and  he 
marched  back  into  his  lines  somewhat  a  wiser  but  not  better  man. 
On  the  8th,  about  midday,  an  amusing  incident  occurred: 
While  the  writer  was  resting  a  few  moments  at  a  wayside  house, 
waiting  for  dinner,  to  which  the  scout  was  always  welcome  in 
dear  old  Virginia,  one  of  General  Butler's  men  entered  and  asked 
of  our  hostess  if  she  could  send  General  Butler  a  bottle  of  brandy, 
that  he  was  suffering  from  thirst,  cold  and  hunger  and  greatly  in 
need  of  it ;  our  hostess,  a  beautiful  young  lady,  readily  responded : 
"Why,  of  course;  certainly  General  Butler  shall  have  it,"  and 
produced  a  bottle  of  excellent  old  peach  brandy  and  requested  the 
trooper  to  present  her  compliments  to  the  general  together  with 
the  bottle.  The  ladies  always,  all,  admired,  perhaps  loved  the 
general  (just  a  little),  for  he  was  one  of  the  grandest  knights 
that  ever  set  lance  for  fair  lady.  The  soldier  politely  doffed  his 
cap  and,  bowing  low,  answered:  "Certainly."  The  writer  felt 
certain  the  general  would  never  even  see  that  bottle,  and  that  the 
spirits  would  hie  to  other  haunts.  That  night,  when  reclining  by 
the  camp  fire,  he  informed  the  general  of  this  incident  and 
inquired  how  he  relished  the  brandy.  The  general  laughingly 
responded :  "The  scoundrel,  and  just  to  think,  he  used  my  name, 
imposed  on  that  young  lady  and  never  gave  me  a  drop.  Con 
found  him,  if  I  could  catch  him  I'd  make  him  rue  it."  When 
the  laughter  subsided,  in  which  the  general  heartily  joined.  Shad- 
burne  said:  "General,  you  have  the  advantage  of  us."  He 
answered,  "How?"  "You  have  but  one  foot  to  freeze,  we  have 
two."  This  was  cruel  wit,  but  the  occasion  seemed  to  demand  it, 
and  it  was  meant  in  love  and  admiration,  and  the  general  received 
the  sally  good-naturedly  and  simply  smiled  (a  sad  smile)  at  his 
handsome  cork  foot,  and  doubtless  thought  of  that  memorable 
battlefield  at  Brandy  Station— 9th  June,  1863— when  he  lost  that 
foot.  The  general  was  a  handsome  man,  then  about  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  tall,  spare,  graceful,  athletic,  and  eve^  inch  a 


414  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

soldier.  The  army  loved  him  and  all  the  ladies  of  the  South 
admired  him.  He  is  now  the  last  of  his  line,  an$  when  he  retires 
to  the  Shades  of  Night  no  one  can  fill  his  place.  God  knows  he 
was  a  hero,  and  would  to  God  his  prowess  had  known  success. 
Never  fought  a  grander  man  for  a  grander  cause.  And  we  all  felt 
as  he,  that  success  should  have  crowned  our  efforts,  and  so  shall 
ever  feel.  We  cannot  feel  that  our  failure  was  best. 

GEO.  D.  SHADBURNE, 

Chief  of  Scouts. 
At  San  Francisco,  January  1,  1909. 


DOCTOR   B.    \V.   TAYLOR 


416  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


DR.  B.  W.  TAYLOR 

Augusta,  Ga.,  December  26, 1905. 

DEAR  COLONEL  BROOKS:  Your  telegram  just  received  announc 
ing  the  death  of  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor.  To  say  that  the  announce 
ment  has  filled  my  heart  with  profound  sorrow  is  a  very  feeble 
form  of  expression. 

Dr.  Taylor,  familiarly  known  by  his  friends  as  Watt  Taylor, 
was  my  college  mate  at  the  South  Carolina  College  away  back 
in  the  '50's.  We  entered  the  Confederate  service  together  in  the 
Hampton  Legion.  He  was  chief  surgeon  of  my  regiment,  the 
Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  He  performed  the  surgical 
operation  on  the  9th  of  June,  1863,  which  I  verily  believe  saved 
my  life.  He  was  surgeon  of  the  First  Cavalry  Brigade,  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  then  of  the  first  division,  commanded  respect 
ively  by  General  Hampton  and  myself.  Added  to  that  he  was 
my  comrade  and  friend  from  first  to  last. 

A  man  more  devoted  to  his  duty  whether  to  friend  or  enemy,  a 
more  conspicuously  courageous  soldier  and  gentleman  never  lived. 
He  was,  moreover,  up  amongst  the  first  in  his  profession  of  sur 
gery  and  medicine.  He  never  complained  or  found  fault,  but 
went  straight  ahead  doing  his  duty  as  it  came  to  him.  He  never 
said  unkind,  ill-natured  things  about  anybody,  although  a  man  of 
strong  convictions  and  undaunted  courage. 

Of  all  the  men  I  have  known  in  a  long,  checkered  career,  there 
were  three,  Lieu  tenant- Colonel  Frank  Hampton,  Dr.  B.  W.  Tay 
lor  and  Major  Jack  Preston,  whom  I  have  always  cherished  with 
the  sincerest  affection.  They  were  such  thorough  gentlemen,  so 
true,  so  courageous,  so  gracious,  so  free  from  guile  and  deceit. 

Watt  Taylor's  death  will  be  a  great  loss  to  Columbia  and  the 
whole  State.  His  great  personal  worth  and  character,  his  pro 
fessional  standard  of  honor,  his  sense  of  duty  to  his  country,  his 
undeviating  pursuit  on  the  line  of  right  exercised  a  commanding 
influence.  May  the  blessing  of  God  be  with  him  arid  remain  with 
him  always,  is  my  devout  and  heartfelt  prayer.  I  know  he  will 
be  among  the  elect  in  the  next  world. 

M.  C.  BUTLER. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  417 


THE  CHARGE  ON  KILPATRICK'S  CAMP 

"That  brilliancy  called  History  is  pitiless;  it  has  this  strange 
and  divine  thing  about  it,  that  all  light  as  it  is,  and.  because  it  is 
light,  it  often  throws  shadows  over  spots  before  luminous,  it 
makes  of  the  same  man  two  different  phantoms,  and  one  attacks 
the  other,  and  the  darkness  of  the  despot  struggles  with  the  lustre 
of  the  captain."  In  the  language  of  Wendell  Phillips :  "If  I  were 
to  tell  you  the  story  of  Napoleon,  I  should  take  it  from  the  lips 
of  Frenchmen,  who  find  no  language  rich  enough  to  paint  the 
great  captain  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Were  I  to  tell  you  the 
story  of  Washington,  I  should  take  it  from  your  hearts — you  who 
think  no  marble  white  enough  on  which  to  carve  the  name  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country." 

I  am  about  to  tell  you  of  one  of  the  many  battles  which  was 
planned,  fought  and  won  by  our  own  illustrious  Lieutenant- 
General  Wade  Hampton  on  the  10th  day  of  March,  1865 — the 
charge  on  Kilpatrick's  camp,  twelve  miles  west  of  Fayetteville, 
N.  C.  Hampton's  plan  of  action  was  a  masterpiece.  No  his 
torian  will  ever  say  of  him  what  has  been  said  of  Wellington, 
that  "Waterloo  is  a  battle  of  the  first  class  won  by  a  captain  of  the 
second."  Hampton's  brave  men  who  dared  to  follow  where  he 
dared  to  lead  saw  no  Waterloo  because  that  expressive  word  of 
defeat  was  not  written  in  their  vocabulary.  Napoleon  said  that 
"detail  facts  belong  rather  to  the  biography  of  regiments  than  to 
the  history  of  the  army."  I  will,  therefore,  try  to  deal  in  detail 
facts  as  I  remember  them. 

In  January,  1865,  General  Lee  ordered  Lieutenant- General 
Hampton  with  General  M.  C.  Butler  and  two  of  his  brigades 
(Young's  and  Dunovant's)  from  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
to  meet  Sherman  at  Columbia,  where  General  Wheeler  was  to 
report  to  General  Hampton  upon  his  arrival.  Each  general  had 
a  squad  of  scouts  who  were  brave  and  courageous  men.  I  will 
give  their  names  as  I  remember  them.  General  Hampton's  scouts 
were  G.  D.  Shadburne,  sergeant  commanding ;  Bob  Shiver,  Lind 
say,  W.  W.  Miller,  D.  F.  Tanner,  Tom  Thistle,  Phil  Hutchinson, 
Jim  Dulin,  Jim  Guffin,  Lem  Guffin,  Walker  Russell,  David  Smith, 

27— B.  C. 


418  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Jack  Shoolbred,  McCalla,  -  -  Simmons,  Jim  Sloan,  Shake 
Harris,  R.  B.  Merchant,  Pres  Parks  and  Sol  Le^are.  Sol  Legare 
was  captured  below  Petersburg,  Va.,  in  October,  1864;  died  in 
prison,  July,  1865 — Point  Lookout.  Wallace  Miller  brought  his 
remains  home  in  1868. 

General  Butler's  scouts  were  Dick  Hogan,  sergeant  command 
ing;  Hugh  H.  Scott,  Bernard  King,  Bill  Morrow,  Dolph  Ken 
nedy,  Bill  Light,  -  —  Elliott,  Joel  Adams,  Jim  Niblet,  - 
Black,  -  -  Ashley,  -  -  Collins,  -  -  Hodges,  Bill  Burness,  Bill 
Turner,  Pern  Guffin,  and  a  brave  young  lad  from  Virginia  named 
Colvin,  and  also  the  fearless  Captain  James  Butler  and  N.  B. 
Eison. 

General  Wheeler's  scouts  were  commanded  by  Captain 
Shannon. 

The  gallant  General  Butler  commanded  the  rear  guard  on  the 
morning  of  the  17th  of  February,  1865,  when  we  were  leaving 
Columbia,  and  while  the  remnant  of  the  second  squadron  of  the 
Sixth  S.  C.  Cavalry  was  reluctantly  leaving  our  beautiful  city 
Sergeant  Hill  Winn  was  killed  in  the  college  campus  when  with 
drawing  the  picket  line  by  Black  Jack  Logan's  advance  guard. 
This  gallant  young  soldier  belonged  to  "Co.  B"  which  with  "Co. 
F"  (the  cadet  company)  formed  the  said  second  squadron — than 
whom  no  braver  squadron  ever  crossed  the  James. 

The  hero  of  Sherman's  army  was  Lieutenant  John  A.  McQueen, 
of  the  Fifteenth  Illinois  Cavalry,  who  saved  several  houses  in 
Columbia  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  and  in  the  language  of  Dr.  A. 
Toomer  Porter,  "he  was  one  of  the  finest  men  I  have  ever  known, 
a  brave  soldier,  a  chivalrous  enemy,  a  devoted  friend,  and  a  most 
devout  and  honest  Christian  gentleman."  So  much  pleased  was 
Dr.  Porter  with  him  that  he  wrote  this  letter : 

Columbia,  S.  C.,  February,  1805. 
Lieutenant-General  Wade  Hampton. 

DEAR  GENERAL:  Should  Lieutenant  McQueen,  Fifteenth  Illinois  Cavalry, 
one  of  General  Howard's  escort,  TJ.  S.  A.,  ever  fall  into  your  hands  or  any 
of  your  command,  let  me  entreat  you  to  show  him  every  kindness  in  your 
power.  In  the  awful  night  of  the  17th,  I  testify  but  for  him  my  family  and 
Dr.  Reynolds'  would  have  suffered  indeed.  lie  stuck  to  us  all  the  night 
and  all  the  day.  He  was  a  great  part  of  the  night  on  the  shed,  and  labored 
with  all  his  might  to  save  Dr.  Reynolds'  house,  which,  by  the  good  provi 
dence  of  God,  by  his  aid  was  saved.  I  beg  you,  by  all  kind  remembrance 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY.  1861-1865.  419 

of  the  past,  for  my  sake  as  well  as  for  him  who  has  in  the  midst  of  the 
horrors  of  that  night  proved  himself  a  man  and  a  Christian,  return  to  him 
in  his  extremity  all  the  kindness  he  showed  to  us  in  ours.  I  am,  General, 

Yours  faithfully, 
(Signed)     A.  TOOMER  PORTER. 

Bummers  were  men  who  were  ordered  by  Sherman  to  go  from 
house  to  house  along  the  march  and  rob  our  women  and  children  of 
every  morsel  of  bread  and  meat  they  possessed  to  feed  his  70,000 
hungry  men  who,  with  a  few  exceptions,  acted  like  savages  more 
than  soldiers.  Some  of  our  women  were  forced  to  rake  up  grains 
of  corn  from  where  these  men  had  fed  their  horses  in  order  to 
prepare  it  for  food  as  best  they  could.  Every  horse,  mule,  cow, 
turkey,  chicken  and  all  that  could  be  eaten,  had  been  stolen.  The 
day  after  leaving  Columbia,  General  Butler,  with  a  few  men, 
charged  some  "bummers"  and  they  ran  in  every  direction  from 
the  house  they  were  then  pillaging,  and  in  a  chase  of  about  200 
yards  through  the  woods  I  caught  one  of  them,  who  begged  hard 
for  his  life,  and  offered  me  a  beautiful  riding  whip  not  to  kill  him 
which  he  had  evidently  stolen  from  some  lady,  and  as  he  had 
thrown  his  gun  away  all  that  I  could  do  was  to  accept  the  whip 
and  him  too.  I  turned  him  over  to  Geneneral  Butler  and  left  him 
answering  questions. 

The  next  day  some  one  presented  General  Butler  with  a  large 
map  of  the  State,  which  was  put  in  my  charge  until  we  could  get 
a  smaller  one,  which  was  procured,  I  think,  the  next  day.  About 
sundown  of  the  first  day  I  carried  it  General  Butler  called  for  the 
map  which,  to  my  disgust,  I  had  left  five  miles  away  in  a  house 
where  some  ladies  had  given  me  a  piece  of  bread.  The  order  had 
to  be  obeyed,  and  when  I  mounted  my  faithful  horse  something, 
I  know  not  what,  seemed  to  tell  him  that  quick  work  was  all  that 
could  save  us  both — the  smoke  of  the  houses  all  around  showed 
that  we  were  gradually  being  surrounded  and  I  expected  every 
moment  to  be  bushwhacked  or  perhaps  meet  a  column  in  the  road 
and  be  shot  to  death ;  but  I  swore  I  would  have  that  map  or  die, 
and  when  I  reached  the  house  with  my  horse  white  with  sweat,  a 
lady  met  me  at  the  gate  with  the  map  and  said,  "Fly,  for  they  are 
here."  It  is  useless  to  state  that  the  map  was  soon  in  General 
Butler's  hands.  This  same  faithful  horse,  like  Tarn  O'Shanter's 
Meg,  "good  as  ever  lifted  leg,"  was  killed  at  Campbell's  Mill, 


420  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

on  the  Juniper  Creek,  in  Chesterfield  County,  when  his  rider  and 
a  private  soldier  belonging  to  the  Phillips,  Legion  named 
McDaniel,  being  possessed  with  more  pluck  than  judgment, 
charged  fourteen  Yankees  in  the  Campbell  house.  Well  do  I 
remember  how  poor  old  Mrs.  Campbell  looked  when  she  ran  out 
of  the  house  and  said,  "My  gracious  alives,  men,  if  you  don't  stop 
that  shoot  en  somebody  is  gwine  to  git  hurt."  I  soon  discovered 
that  she  was  right.  My  horse  was  shot,  and  so  was  I,  but  the  poor 
horse  had  enough  strength  to  take  me  to  the  swamp,  where 
McDaniel  and  I  held  a  council  of  war  and  decided  to  separate  at 
once.  Poor  fellow,  I  hope  he  is  doing  well — I  have  not  heard  of 
him  since.  I  wandered  about  in  the  woods,  dodging  blue  coats 
until  dark,  when  I  met  an  old  citizen  who  gave  me  his  hat  and 
said,  "Here  is  a  good  negro  who  will  conduct  you  through  the 
woods  to  Society  Hill  to  Dr.  Pressley's  house,  and  he  will  let  you 
have  a  horse."  Upon  our  safe  arrival  I  gave  this  faithful  negro 
all  I  possessed,  which  was  a  five- dollar  Confederate  bill.  Our 
scouts  took  the  bummers  in  at  Campbell's  Mill  and  ate  the  dinner 
which  they  made  old  Mrs.  Campbell  prepare  for  them.  At  Dr. 
Pressley's  hospitable  home  I  fortunately  met  Colonel  Zimmerman 
Davis,  and  the  next  morning  I  was  mounted  on  Dr.  Pressley's 
horse  and  with  Colonel  Davis  crossed  the  Great  Pee  Dee  and  went 
in  the  direction  of  Bennettsville,  and  after  traveling  a  few  miles, 
I  had  returned  Dr.  Pressley's  horse,  having  procured  a  wild 
young  horse  which  could  run  like  a  deer.  We  spent  the  night  at 
Bennettsville  and  early  next  morning  met  our  men  at  Cheraw, 
where  a  hot  skirmish  was  going  on.  A  battery  was  placed  in 
position  to  shell  the  town,  and  while  General  Butler  and  his  scouts 
were  consulting  in  the  street  a  shell  killed  the  horse  of  Sergeant 
Wells  of  the  Charleston  Light  Dragoons.  This  gallant  company 
had  been  so  badly  cut  to  pieces  in  Virginia  that  only  fifteen  or 
twenty  men  were  left,  and  while  at  Columbia,  General  Butler 
detailed  these  brave  boys  as  his  escort,  and  the  first  shell  fired 
into  Cheraw  killed  the  horse  just  mentioned.  Just  before  reach 
ing  Lynch's  River  we  stopped  at  a  house  where  a  deserter  lived. 
He  told  us  that  he  belonged  to  "Nelson's  Battalion,  Hagood's 
Brigade,"  and  took  us  for  Kilpatrick's  men  and  opened  his  corn 
crib  and  fed  our  horses  and  assured  us  that  he  was  with  us  and 
would  do  what  he  could  to  crush  the  rebellion.  I  never  can  forget 


GLENN  EDWIN  DAVIS, 

since  1883  City  Sheriff  of  Charleston,  was  born  in  Fairfield  County  in  1843,  but  was 
reared  from  the  age  of  four  years  in  the  city.  Several  of  his  ancestors  were  officers 
in  the  Revolutionary  Army.  In  155S  he  entered  the  military  academy  at  Murfreesboro, 
Tenn.,  and  in  1860  became  a  cadet  at  the  Citadel  Academy  at  Charleston.  He  left  this 
institution  with  the  Cadets  in  June,  1862,  and  enlisted  in  the  Sixth  South  Carolina 
Cavalry,  the  Cadets  forming  Company  "F"  of  that  command.  In  this  regiment  he 
served  one  year,  participating  in  several  skirmishes  on  the  coast,  and  was  then  trans 
ferred  to  Company  "D,"  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry.  Being  ordered  to  Virginia,  his 
regiment  became  part  of  General  M.  C.  Butler's  command  of  Hampton's  Division.  He 
was  appointed  color-bearer  of  the  brigade  of  General  John  Dunovant.  After  this  gallant 
general  was  killed,  Davis  returned  to  his  regiment.  After  the  battle  of  Trevilian,  he 
was  appointed  sergeant-major  of  the  regiment  in  recognition  of  his  gallant  record  and 
soldierly  ability;  from  early  in  1865  until  the  surrender  at  Greensboro,  he  acted  as 
adjutant  of  the  regiment.  Among  the  battles  in  which  he  participated  were  the 
engagements  of  cavalry  before  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  Chester  Station,  Va. ;  Drewry's 
Bluff,  Charles  City,  Trevilian's,  White  House,  Ream's  Station,  Vaughn  Road,  Burgess' 
Mill,  Averysboro,  and  Bentonville,  N.  C.  He  was  in  over  forty  cavalry  skirmishes  in 
Virginia,  a  number  on  the  South  Carolina  coast,  and  almost  daily  skirmishes  in  the 
two  Carolinas  during  Sherman's  march  from  February  14th  to  April  13th,  1865.  For  a 
year  after  the  close  of  hostilities  he  resided  in  Edgefield,  S.  C.;  then  he  returned  to 
Charleston,  where  he  has  since  resided.  His  election  as  City  Sheriff  in  1883,  and  his 
long  retention  in  office  evidence  the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  people  of 
Charleston. 


4:22  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

how  this  unfortunate  man  looked  next  morning  when  he  found,  to 
his  utter  disgust,  that  he  had  been  entertaining  "graycoats." 

I  take  the  following  from  a  letter  written  by  Colonel  Zimmer 
man  Davis : 

"Among  many  similar  brilliant  exploits  of  our  Major-General 
Butler,  was  a  morning  attack  upon  one  of  Sherman's  wagon  trains 
on  the  west  of  Little  Lynch's  Creek,  in  Kershaw  County,  on  Feb 
ruary  23rd.  The  night  before  was  cold,  dark  and  rainy,  when 
he  boldly  marched  his  command  into  the  very  midst  of  Sherman's 
army,  and  about  eleven  o'clock  went  into  camp  in  sight  of  and 
between  camp  fires  of  two  army  corps.  His  men  were  in  the 
saddle  again  before  the  dawn  and  by  sunrise  were  drawn  up  in 
column  of  fours  in  close  proximity  to  an  encampment  of  wagon 
trains,  anxiously  awaiting  the  opportune  moment  to  charge.  Just 
as  the  wagons  were  all  hitched  up  and  had  been  driven  into  the 
road  for  the  purpose  of  beginning  the  day's  march,  their  escort 
in  front,  the  shrill  blasts  of  our  bugles  sounding  the  charge  awoke 
echoes  in  the  forests  around  and  away  we  went,  shouting,  shooting 
and  hewing  with  sabre.  It  was  but  the  work  of  a  few  moments 
and  in  an  incredible  short  space  of  time  about  two  hundred  pris 
oners  and  nineteen  splendid  army  wagons,  each  drawn  by  six 
fine  mules  clad  in  such  harness  as  our  Confederate  teamsters  had 
not  seen  for  many  a  day,  were  put  across  the  stream  into  the 
peninsular  formed  by  Little  and  Big  Lynch's  Creek,  where  they 
were  safe  from  rescue." 

This  wagon  train  was  coming  after  the  very  corn  that  our 
horses  had  just  eaten,  and  in  this  charge  that  took  them  in  one 
of  General  Hampton's  bravest  scouts,  Jim  Dulin,  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  thigh,  and  the  best  we  could  do  for  him  was  to 
put  him  in  a  little  hut  near  the  river  in  Darlington  County.  Jim 
Dulin  was  as  brave  as  Julius  Caesar,  and  was  detailed  to  scout  for 
General  Hampton  from  Company  I,  Second  South  Carolina 
Cavalry,  though  a  Virginian  from  Fauquier  County.  I  have 
never  seen  him  since  telling  him  good-bye  in  the  hut. 

Colonel  Davis  continues :  "After  the  charge,  while  waiting  in 
the  road  in  column  of  fours,  prepared  to  resist  a  counter  charge 
from  the  enemy's  main  body,  should  one  be  attempted  while  the 
captured  train  was  crossing  the  creek,  I  observed  a  horse  running 
through  the  woods  without  a  rider,  and  dispatched  Private 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  423 

McElroy  of  my  old  company,  the  ; South  Carolina  Kangers,'  to 
capture  and  bring  him  in.  He  did  so,  and  as  the  horse  was 
equipped  with  a  perfectly  new  English  bridle  and  martingales  of 
soft  yellow  leather,  I  lost  no  time  in  transferring  them  to  my  own 
horse.  I  swapped  saddle  pouches,  too,  as  the  captured  one  was 
also  new.  One  side  of  the  pouch  was  empty,  the  other  side  con 
tained  nothing  but  a  book  which,  upon  examination,  proved  to  be 
the  diary  of  Lieutenant  John  A.  McQueen.  The  diary  was  fre 
quently  referred  to  and  discussed  by  General  Butler,  Colonel 
Aiken  and  myself  during  the  next  day  as  we  had  opportunity  on 
the  march.  These  words  were  written  in  the  diary  by  Lieutenant 
McQueen :  'It  was  heartrending  to  see  the  wanton  destruction  of 
property  and  the  insults  visited  upon  defenseless  women  and 
children  of  Columbia  by  our  Union  soldiers.  I  did  all  I  could  to 
prevent  it,  but  was  powerless.' ' 

Butler's  old  brigade  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Hugh  K. 
Aiken,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  February,  1865,  General 
Butler  being  then  at  Kellytown,  directed  Colonel  Aiken  to  take  a 
regiment  and  proceed  down  the  east  bank  of  Lynch's  Creek  and 
ascertain  if  any  portion  of  Sherman's  army  had  crossed  into 
Darlington  County.  Colonel  Aiken  selected  the  Fifth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Colonel  Davis.  This  gallant 
old  regiment  had  been  cut  to  pieces  so  that  only  about  300  men 
answered  to  roll  call.  On  the  road  to  Dubose  Bridge  Colonel 
Aiken  met  a  picked  body  of  men  commanded  by  Lieutenant  John 
A.  McQueen,  and  led  the  charge,  with  Colonel  Davis  by  his  side, 
and  it  being  dark  the  men  got  into  close  quarters  and  Colonel 
Aiken  was  captured,  with  Sergeant  Haigler,  but  jerked  the  reins 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  Yankee  who  held  them  and  escaped  and 
rode  up  to  Colonel  Davis  and  dismounted,  but  Avas  hit  imme 
diately  by  one  of  the  parting  shots  of  the  enemy,  and  cried  out, 
"Davis,  I  am  dying,  catch  me."  His  nephew  and  courier,  young 
Willie  Aiken,  caught  him  as  he  fell,  and  his  death  was  instanta 
neous.  Thus  ended  the  career  of  the  gallant  Hugh  K.  Aiken, 
colonel  of  the  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry. 

In  this  night  charge,  as  Colonel  Zimmerman  Davis  drew  near 
the  enemy  he  saw  that  the  two  men  in  the  road  ahead  were 
officers  and  both  firing  pistols,  their  last  shot  passing  through  his 
hair  at  less  than  five  paces.  He  fired  at  them  once  as  ho 


424  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

approached  and  again  as  he  went  rushing  by;  he  struck  the  one 
nearest  to  him  a  severe  blow  with  the  muzzle  of  his  pistol  and 
pulled  the  trigger  at  the  same  instant,  severely  wounding  Lieu 
tenant  John  A.  McQueen,  who  was  taken  by  the  Confederates  to 
the  house  of  Mr.  Dubose,  where  he  showed  Dr.  Porter's  letter  and 
was  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness.  As  soon  as  Dr.  Porter 
heard  of  it,  he  was  at  once  by  his  side  and  could  not  have  been 
more  tender  to  his  own  son.  From  the  Dubose  house  Lieutenant 
McQueen  was  sent  to  Camden  and  there  it  was  that  Dr.  Porter 
nursed  him. 

After  leaving  Cheraw  we  had  a  pretty  hot  skirmish  at  Rocking- 
ham,  N.  C.,  and  the  next  day  charged  a  regiment  of  cavalry  just 
after  they  had  opened  a  barrel  of  wine.  I  led  this  charge,  simply 
because  I  lost  control  of  my  horse — he  being  young  and  afraid  of 
a  gun.  Fortunately,  our  men  coming  behind  me  with  rebel  yell 
created  a  panic  among  the  Yankees  and  they  stampeded,  thereby 
saving  me  from  death  or  capture. 

While  our  command  was  in  Chesterfield  County,  Pink  Brantley, 
General  Butler's  orderly,  got  permission  to  visit  the  house  of  a 
friend,  where  the  Yankees  captured  General  Butler's  satchel  con 
taining,  among  other  things,  his  comb  and  brush,  and  old  Pink, 
too.  While  we  felt  sorry  for  Pink,  we  could  not  refrain  from 
laughing  when  we  heard  of  it,  because  when  Pink  left  us  he  said 
no  ten  or  fifteen  Yankees  could  catch  him — he  knew  the  country 
too  well — he  was  raised  there.  Little  did  he  think  that  he  would 
be  raised  again  so  soon  by  the  Yankees. 

The  gallant  Colonel  L.  P.  Miller  commanded  the  Sixth  Cavalry 
from  the  date  of  General  'Dunovant's  death,  October  1st.  1864. 
Colonel  Miller  was  one  of  the  best  disciplinarians  in  the  army, 
and  is  now  the  only  surviving  field  officer  of  that  historical  regi 
ment. 

Major  Tom  Ferguson  was  wounded  10th  of  March,  1865,  and  a 
few  years  ago  went  to  his  reward  full  of  honors  as  soldier  and 
citizen. 

On  the  9th  day  of  March,  1865,  General  Hampton  rode  ahead 
of  the  command  all  day  by  himself,  and  the  men  would  look  at 
each  other  and  say :  "Look  out,  boys,  old  Wade  is  fixing  a  trap  for 
them ;  we  will  be  into  it  tonight,"  while  others  would  say :  "We 
will  give  it  to  them  tomorrow,"  which  forcibly  reminded  me  of 


BUTLER  AND. His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  425 

what  General  Mart  Gary  said  to  a  Yankee  general  in  Virginia 
one  day  after  they  had  arranged  some  matter  under  a  flag  of 
truce  and  had  separated,  but  before  the  general  in  blue  was  fifty 
yards  away  the  "Old  Bald  Eagle"  called  to  him  and  said,  "I  am 
coming  over  tomorrow  and  give  you  hell,"  and  sure  enough  he  did. 
About  sundown  on  this  bleak,  cheerless,  drizzling  day,  we 
caught  up  with  General  Hampton,  who  consulted  with  General 
Butler,  and  just  at  dark  General  Butler  paralyzed  the  pickets  of 
the  Fifth  Ohio  U.  S.  Cavalry,  not  by  shooting  at  them,  but  by 
simply  commanding  them  to  surrender — not  a  shot  was  fired.  It 
was  the  coolest  thing  I  ever  witnessed,  and  within  ten  minutes 
more  he  had  captured  fifteen  or  twenty  bummers  in  the  same  cool 
and  deliberate  way — thus  leaving  Hampton  at  Kilpatrick's  picket 
post  with  the  key  to  the  lock  of  the  situation  well  in  hand.  A 
"council  of  war"  was  held  with  General  Wheeler,  and  in  a  short 
time  Hampton,  Wheeler  and  Butler  were  walking  through  and 
around  Kilpatrick's  camp,  where  all  was  still  as  death  save  across 
the  road  where  the  provost  guard  kept  a  close  watch  over  125  of 
our  men  who  had  been  captured  along  the  route  from  Columbia, 
who  were  all  barefooted,  bareheaded  and  almost  naked.  Flynn 
Davis,  a  brother  of  Colonel  Zimmerman  Davis,  and  Frank 
Niernsee,  with  his  brother,  Reuben  Niernsee,  now  of  Washington, 
D.  C.,  were  among  the  prisoners  recaptured.  Just  at  the  break 
of  day,  a  few  minutes  after  the  formation  of  the  line  and  in  the 
midst  of  that  profound  silence  which  precedes  the  storm  of  a 
battle,  General  Butler  ordered  Colonel  Gid  Wright  and  Hugh 
Scott  by  his  side  with  the  gallant  old  Cobb  Legion  to  lead  the 
charge,  following  close  on  the  heels  of  a  dashing  young  officer, 
Captain  Bostick,  who  first  entered  Kilpatrick's  camp  leading  his 
squadron  of  the  Cobb  Legion.  Captain  Bostick  had  been  selected 
by  Colonel  Wright  to  lead  what  was  supposed  would  be  a  "forlorn 
hope."  They  were  followed  by  the  rest  of  Butler's  "Spartan 
band."  No  charge  was  ever  made  with  more  determination.  The 
charge  of  the  "Scotch  Grays"  at  Waterloo  was  not  equal  to  it. 
General  Wheeler  was  ordered  to  support  us  on  the  right,  but 
unfortunately,  his  horse  bogged  up  in  the  miry  woods  and  like 
Moses  of  old,  and  the  promised  land,  they  could  see  us  and  hear 
us,  but  could  not  get  to  us — at  once.  Oh,  that  I  had  the  power  to 
describe  this  hand-to-hand  fight — the  men  on  both  sides  were 


426  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

brave  and  fought  with  more  desperation  than  I  had  ever  before 
seen. 

Victor  Hugo  says:  "A  certain  amount  of  tempest  is  always 
mingled  with  a  battle.  Every  historian  traces  to  some  extent  the 
lineament  that  pleases  him  in  the  hurly  burly.  What  is  a  battle  ? 
An  oscillation.  The  immobility  of  a  mathematical  plan  expresses 
a  minute  and  not  a  day.  To  paint  a  battle,  those  powerful 
painters  who  have  chaos  in  their  pencils  are  needed.  Let  us  add 
that  there  is  always  a  certain  moment  in  which  the  battle  degen 
erates  into  a  combat,  is  particularized  and  broken  up  into  count 
less  detail  facts.  The  historian  in  such  a  case  has  the  evident 
right  to  sum  up,  he  can  only  catch  the  principal  outlines  of  the 
struggle,  and  it  is  not  given  to  any  narrator,  however  conscien 
tious  he  may  be,  to  absolutely  fix  the  form  of  that  horrible  cloud 
which  is  called  the  battle." 

Butler's  men  charged  down  the  road  and  as  soon  as  they  rode 
over  the  sleeping  men  in  blue,  they  wheeled  their  horses  and  rode 
over  them  again — three  times  they  rode  over  them — while  the 
men  under  the  blankets  would  say,  "We  surrender,"  but  would 
fight  like  tigers  when  they  saw  so  few  "gray  coats."  Soon  we 
were  all  mixed  up  so  that  swords,  small  arms  and  ringing  cannon 
thunder  caused  blood  to  flow  in  streams. 

"Breast  against  breast  with  ruinous  assault 
And  deaf  ning  shock  they  come." 

The  rush  of  columns  to  the  breach,  officers  cheering  the  men 
on;  pauses,  breaks,  wild  and  angry  threats,  upbraiding  calls, 
fresh  rush  on  rush,  now  here,  now  there;  fierce  shouts  above, 
below,  behind;  shrieks  of  agony,  choked  groans  and  gasps  of 
dying  men  and  horses  hurled  down  with  rattling  missiles  of 
death.  I  take  the  following  from  Colonel  Thomas's  history  of 
the  Citadel,  page  219,  by  Lieutenant  Alfred  Aldrich : 

"On  the  10th  March,  1865,  our  command  surprised  General  Kilpatrick's 
camp  about  daybreak,  and  the  battle  which  followed  lasted  the  whole  day, 
and  on  the  Confederate  side  no  infantry  was  employed.  It  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  chronicle  here  one  of  the  many  episodes  that  befell  the 
cadets  here,  collectively  and  severally,  during  their  service,  and  the  writer 
will  relate  an  incident  of  this  battle  in  which  'Shaftsbury'  Moses  measured 
sabers'  fists  with  one  of  Kilpatrick's  troopers.  The  cadet  company  was 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  427 

lighting  hand  to  hand  with  the  enemy,  and  Moses'  horse  was  killed  under 
him.  On  freeing  himself  from  his  dying  horse,  he  found  himself  confronted 
by  a  big  Yankee,  sabre  in  hand.  Moses,  being  a  smaller  man  than  his 
antagonist  and  dead  game,  determined  to  force  the  fighting,  and  he  made 
a  furious  thrust  inside  of  his  adversary's  guard,  which  caused  a  clinch  and 
a  fall  'then  the  Gaol  above,  Fitz  James  below' — and  not  only  so,  but  the  Gaol 
had  in  the  brief  struggle  secured  a  firm  hold  with  his  teeth  on  Fitz  James' 
finger.  As  good  luck  would  have  it,  Private  Bill  Martin,  whose  horse  had 
also  been  killed,  came  along  just  at  this  juncture,  and,  in  his  own  expres 
sive  language,  'lifted  the  Yank  off  of  Shaftsbury  with  his  revolver.  As 
no  such  name  as  'Shaftsbury  Moses'  appears  on  the  muster  roll  of  the 
Cadet  company,  it  is  proper  to  state  that  Cadet  J.  H.  Moses  while  at  the 
Citadel,  on  account  of  his  scholarly  style  of  composition,  had  been  dubbed 
by  his  fellow  cadets  'Lord  Shaftsbury.'  In  this  battle  Sergeant  G.  H. 
Hodges'  horse  was  killed  under  him  and  he  was  shot  in  the  side.  Though 
wounded,  he  succeeded  in  capturing  another  horse  and  continued  in  the 
battle  until  disabled  by  a  wound  in  the  shoulder.  After  the  battle,  investi 
gation  showed  that  the  enemy's  bullet  had  entered  the  same  hole  in  his 
coat  that  was  made  by  the  bullet  which  wounded  him  at  Trevillian,  12th 
June,  1864.  In  this  battle,  Captain  Humphreys  was  wounded  in  the 
arm  by  a  grape  shot  in  charging  a  battery.  He  was  carried  to  the  hos 
pital  in  Raleigh,  N.  C.  The  surgeon  informed  him  that  his  arm  must  be 
amputated.  He  refused  to  submit  to  the  operation  from  a  morbid  horror 
of  going  through  life  maimed,  and  died  a  short  time  before  Lee's  surrender. 
Cadet  Humphreys  was  gifted  with  a  fine  intellect,  and  every  natural 
quality  to  make  for  himself  a  successful  career.  Fate  willed  otherwise 
than  that  he  should  survive  to  fulfil  the  promise  of  his  youth,  and  after 
a  term  of  service,  brief  but  brilliant  enough  to  satisfy  the  dream  of  any 
Paladin  of  romance,  he  died  just  in  time  not  to  know  that  the  good  fight 
had  been  made  in  vain. 

"  'The  Cadet  Company'  fought  in  the  battle  of  Bentonville,  and  learning 
that  Johnston's  army  was  to  be  surrendered,  by  permission,  marched  out 
of  camp  the  night  preceding  that  event,  with  the  idea  of  making  its  way 
to  the  trans-Mississippi  part  of  the  Confederacy,  but  disbanded  under 
counsel  of  its  colonel,  L.  P.  Miller,  when  he  bade  them  good-bye." 

The  10th  of  March  was  a  damp,  dreary,  cloudy  day,  and  the 
smoke  from  the  guns  would  not  rise.  If  you  missed  your  aim 
your  bullet  was  liable  to  kill  friend  or  foe.  The  prettiest  duel  I 
ever  saw  was  fought  by  Captain  James  Butler  and  a  Federal 
officer  who  began  the  fight  with  the  brave,  the  dashing,  the  gal 
lant  and  handsome  Nat  Butler,  who  was  riding  the  same  horse 
that  his  brother  Thomas  was  on  when  killed  at  Gettysburg,  he 
was  shot  through  the  right  elbow,  and  as  soon  as  Captain  James 
Butler  saw  his  young  brother's  arm  hanging  at  his  side  he  at 


428  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

once  attracted  the  Yankee's  attention  by  sending  a  bullet  whizzing 
by  his  head,  and  after  exchanging  three  deliberate  shots  at  each 
other,  this  brave  man  in  blue  bit  the  dust.  Captain  James  Butler 
was  cool,  brave,  and  at  times  reckless,  and  I  can  never  forget  how 
tenderly  he  nursed  his  young  wounded  brother — no  woman  could 
have  been  more  attentive  and  kind  than  he.  Nat  Butler  was  my 
friend,  and  I  was  his  friend.  I  loved  him,  and  he  loved  me. 

Among  a  great  many  other  brave  men,  gallant  Sam  Cothran, 
orderly  sergeant  Company  B,  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry, 
Tom  Sego,  Mat  Adams  and  Fayette  Cogburn  were  killed,  which 
reduced  this  gallant  old  company  to  a  mere  handful  of  men. 

Captain  Bostick  was  ordered  to  capture  General  Kilpatrick, 
but  the  wily  general  outwitted  him.  When  the  captain  rode  up 
to  him  in  his  dishabille,  and  said  "Where  is  General  Kil 
patrick?"  he  replied,  "Don't  you  see  him  running  on  that  horse 
right  yonder?"  With  this,  the  captain  charged  him;  the  private 
soldier,  who  was  frightened,  outran  everything  that  followed  him. 
General  Kilpatrick,  however,  took  time  by  the  forelock  and  was 
soon  mounted  on  his  courier's  horse  and  made  good  his  escape. 
After  the  war,  when  General  Butler  was  in  the  Senate,  Kilpatrick 
said  to  him :  "When  I  heard  the  Rebel  yell  in  my  camp,  I  threw 
up  both  hands  and  exclaimed,  'My  goodness,  four  years'  hard 
fighting  and  a  major-general's  commission  gone  in  four  minutes.'  r 

The  next  day  we  comparatively  rested  and  rode  into  Fayette- 
ville,  N.  C.,  and  while  we  were  all  at  breakfast  gallant  Hugh 
Scott  notified  General  Hampton  that  100  Yankees  were  at  the 
door  and  said:  "General,  give  me  four  or  five  men  and  I  will 
run  them  out  of  town."  General  Hampton,  hearing  the  words  of 
this  beardless  boy,  inspired  him  and  he  said :  "You  scouts  follow 
me  and  I  will  lead  this  charge."  He  killed  two  with  his  own 
pistol  and  captured  the  captain,  who  acknowledged  that  he  had 
sixty-eight  men,  of  whom  quite  a  number  were  killed  and  cap 
tured.  Here  is  a  copy  of  General  Hampton's  letter  compli 
menting  these  gallant  boys  who  followed  him : 

Headquarters  Cavalry, 

19th  March,  1865. 

LIEUTENANT:  I  take  great  pleasure  in  commending  to  you  Privates 
Wells,  Bellinger  and  Fishburne  of  your  company,  who,  with  Private  Scott, 
and  one  of  Wheeler's  command  whose  name  I  regret  I  don't  know,  acted 


BUTLEK  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  429 

with  conspicuous  gallantry  in  charging  and  driving  from  the  town  of  Fay- 
etteville  that  portion  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  which  entered  the  town  before 
it  had  been  evacuated  by  my  troops.  Their  conduct  on  this  occasion 
reflects  high  credit  upon  them  as  soldiers. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obt.  servt., 

WADE  HAMPTON,  Lt.  Genl. 
Lt.  Harleston,  Commanding  Co.  K,  4th  S.  C.  Cav. 

It  seems  that  the  sixty-eight  blue  coats  rushed  into  town  and 
were  surprised  to  find  us  there.  The  whole  thing  was  done  so 
quickly  that  some  of  us  knew  nothing  about  it  until  it  was  all 
over.  General  Hardee  crossed  over  the  river  with  his  foot-sore 
veterans.  Butler's  rear  guard  followed  leisurely,  burning  the 
bridge  over  Cape  Fear  River  behind  him.  Bachman's  battery 
was  among  the  last  to  cross  the  bridge,  and  an  historic  battery  it 
was,  recruited  in  Charleston,  composed  of  sturdy,  brave,  deter 
mined  Germans.  It  enlisted  for  the  war,  served  in  the  trying 
years  in  Virginia,  complimented  for  gallantry  at  every  turn,  it 
bore  a  distinguished  name  for  unbounded  courage.  In  the  his 
tory  of  artillery  it  seldom  happens,  perhaps  never  before  can  it 
be  cited,  where  a  battery  charged  a  brigade  of  cavalry.  Yet  it 
occurred,  and  the  Federal  commander  of  that  cavalry  brigade, 
rather  than  surrender  himself,  blew  out  his  own  brains  on  the 
field  of  battle.  So  that  this  battery  traversed  nearly  every 
military  road  in  Virginia,  crpssed  the  Potomac,  fought  in  Mary 
land  and  Pennsylvania,  ordered  back  to  South  Carolina,  and 
aided  by  an  enviable  courage  to  close  the  career  of  the  Confed 
eracy  at  Bentonville,  N.  C.  The  only  surviving  officer  of  this 
historic  command  is  the  Hon.  James  Simons,  ex-speaker  of  the 
South  Carolina  House  of  Representatives. 

Heretofore  in  these  pages  an  allusion  has  been  made  to  the 
"Charleston  Light  Dragoons."  This  is  an  old  and  time-honored 
corps  back  to  1773,  when  it  was  named  the  "Charles-Town  City 
Troop,"  and  did  active  service  then  as  a  company,  and  in  halcyon 
days  as  gay  and  gallant  "Dragoons"  on  "Muster  Day,"  and  as 
an  escort  for  governors.  They  went  to  Virginia  as  a  "kid  glove" 
company,  earning  glory  on  each  and  every  field,  such  men  fought 
at  "Bakalava"  and  at  "Inkermann,"  and  knew  when  and  how  to 
die.  They  died  as  they  had  lived — "true  to  God  and  to  country," 
and  a  high  tribute  was  paid  by  their  commander,  General  Wade 


430  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Hampton,  who  had  witnessed  their  gallantry  on  more  than  one 
field.  On  an  occasion  General  Hampton  was  ricljng  with  General 
Lee,  and  came  opposite  the  "Dragoons."  General  Lee  was 
attracted  by  the  general  appearance  of  the  men,  and  in  his  gentle, 
quiet  way,  asked  General  Hampton:  "General,  what  command 
is  that?"  The  answer  came  with  pride  and  tenderness  in  the  tone : 
"General  Lee,  it  is  the  'Charleston  Light  Dragoons,'  and,  sir,  I 
would  rather  be  a  private  soldier  of  that  command  than  wear 
today  the  decoration  of  the  'Legion  of  Honor.'  r 

Like  wine,  time  sometimes  flavors  records  of  men  and  horses. 
Two  of  the  oldest  cavalry  companies,  "Dragoons,"  in  fact  today 
are  the  "Philadelphia  City  Troop"  and  the  "Charleston  Light 
Dragoons."  For  a  principle  they  each  of  them  fought  in  1776, 
and  for  the  same  reason  in  1861-1865.  In  the  latter  years  one 
represented  the  blue,  the  other  the  gray.  Each  maintained  its 
organization,  and  when  the  time  comes,  rest  assured  that  where 
duty  calls  these  men  of  the  "Old  Dragoons"  will  ever  be  found. 
Thank  God  that  we  have  living  today  a  man  who  wore  the  "gray." 
high  up  in  rank,  great  in  military  achievements,  and  who  is 
willing  to  award  to  the  private  soldier  of  the  Confederacy  of 
every  branch  of  service  the  glory  that  belongs  to  each.  But 
the  old  cavalry  commander  from  South  Carolina  is  devoted  to 
the  history  of  his  command,  and  M.  C.  Butler  has  placed  chaplets 
of  laurels  upon  the  monument  to  the  "Dragoons"  and  measured 
out  to  the  survivors  the  full  measure  of  credit  due  a  command  as 
faithful  in  life,  as  were  they  in  death,  to  a  cause  where  time 
honors  alike  memories  of  the  living  and  of  the  glorious  dead. 

The  winding  up  of  affair's  at  the  city  of  Fayetteville  was  has 
tened,  Sherman,  with  his  70,000  men,  halted  until  his  pontoon 
bridge  could  be  put  down.  On  the  12th  of  March,  suffering  from 
a  wound  received  at  "Campbell's  Mill,"  General  Butler  sent  me 
with  Bernard  King,  the  famous  scout,  to  Raleigh,  where  I  might 
be  with  my  friend  Nat  Butler,  who  was  beloved  by  staff  and 
couriers  alike.  Any  man  who  has  served  on  the  cavalry  head 
quarters  or  staff  can  fully  understand  the  kind  relations  existing 
between  the  general  and  his  household — the  tenderest  sentiment 
exists — a  sympathy  for  chief  and  staff,  for  orderlies  and  couriers. 
We  found  my  wounded  friend  nicely  quartered  at  Major  Deve- 
reaux's  house  with  Captain  James  Butler  and  Edmund.  General 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  431 

Butler's  faithful  body  servant,  at  his  side.  I  was  so  thankful 
that  I  was  able  to  help  nurse  the  wounded  soldier  boy.  Dr. 
Warren,  the  surgeon,  when  asked  by  me  what  I  should  do,  said : 
"Poor  Nat  is  so  low,  if  you  can  keep  him  mad  all  the  time  we  will 
pull  him  through."  Major  Devereaux's  beautiful  daughters, 
"Miss  Agnes"  and  "Miss  Kate,"  would  bring  every  delicacy  they 
could  think  of — but  from  no  hands  save  mine  would  he  touch 
food.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  his  life  on  the  12th  day  of  April, 
1877,  at  the  Planter's  Hotel,  Augusta,  Ga. 

"No  more  shall  the  war  cry  sever, 

Or  the  winding  rivers  be  red ; 
They  banish  our  anger  forever 

When  they  laurel  the  graves  of  our  dead 
Under  the  sod  and  the  dew ; 

Waiting  the  judgment  day, 
Love  and  tears  for  the  blue, 

Tears  and  love  for  the  gray." 


432  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


HEROIC  DEEDS 

In  the  beautiful  Battery  Park  of  Charleston  is  a  monument 
erected  to  Sergeant  Jasper,  of  Kevolutionary  fame.  He  was  in 
Fort  Moultrie  during  the  attack  by  the  British  fleet.  The  flag 
staff  on  the  fort  was  shot  away,  and  the  flag  fell  in  front  of  the 
fort.  Jasper,  exclaiming,  "Don't  let  us  fight  without  our  flag," 
jumped  down,  seized  the  flag,  brought  it  into  the  fort,  and  under 
the  fire  of  the  British  fleet,  attached  it  to  a  sponge  staff  and 
stuck  it  up  on  the  parapet. 

During  one  of  Admiral  Nelson's  sea  fights,  it  is  recorded  that  a 
shell  from  one  of  the  enemy's  ships  fell  upon  the  deck  of  Nelson's 
ship,  the  fuse  of  the  bomb  was  burning  and  it  was  about  to 
explode;  if  it  had  exploded  many  men  on  the  ship  would  have 
been  killed;  an  English  sailor  boy,  quick  as  thought,  seized  the 
smoking  shell  and  tossed  it  into  the  sea,  thus  saving  the  lives  of 
many  aboard. 

These  were  brave  acts,  and  the  deserving  fame  of  these  two 
heroes  has  been  handed  down  to  posterity  in  song  and  story. 
While  unwilling  to  pluck  one  leaf  from  the  wreath  of  fame  so 
worthily  won  by  these  brave  men,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
acts  of  equal  daring  as  the  ones  alluded  to  were  performed  daily 
by  heroes  of  both  the  "gray  and  the  blue"  engaged  in  the  War 
of  Secession.  There  were  many  brave  and  gallant  men  among 
our  then  enemies.  In  fact  heroic  deeds  were  so  common  as  only 
to  excite  passing  notice,  a^nd  were  soon  forgotten.  I  will  recall 
two  instances  of  a  similar  nature  to  the  ones  of  Jasper  and  the 
Nelson  hero,  performed  by  two  Charleston  boys.  During  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter  by  the  Federal  fleet,  the  flagstaff 
on  the  fort  flying  the  Confederate  colors  was  repeatedly  shot 
down ;  it  was  immediately  replaced  by  some  daring  boy  in  gray. 
One  occasion  when  the  entire  attacking  fleet  of  ironclads  and 
other  war  vessels  were  pouring  their  shot  upon  the  fort,  and  it 
was  considered  certain  death  for  any  one  to  be  exposed  a  moment 
upon  the  parapet,  a  portion  of  the  flagstaff  near  the  top  was  shot 
away,  carrying  the  flag  with  it.  As  soon  as  it  fell  dozens  of  the 
garrison  sprang  forward  to  get  and  replace  the  fallen  flag. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  433 

Young  James  Tupper,  Jr.,  of  Charleston,  was  the  first  to  seize 
the  flag.  Rushing  upon  the  parapet,  with  a  hammer  and  nails 
(the  ropes  for  hoisting  the  flag  being  shot  away),  he  climbed 
the  broken  staff  to  the  top  and  nailed  the  flag  there,  returning  to 
the  bomb-proof  as  if  he  had  done  nothing  unusual.  I  am  {old 
that  sailors  on  the  fleet,  while  he  was  replacing  the  flag,  realizing 
his  heroism,  stopped  their  shooting  and  cheered  him.  There  is  no 
question  that  Tupper's  feat  was  a  more  daring  one  than  Jasper's. 

Lieutenant  Alston  was  serving  coffee  one  day  to  his  men  in 
Fort  Sumter.  They  were  huddled  for  protection  close  to  an  inner 
wall  of  the  fort.  A  mortar  shell  dropped  among  them;  it  was 
about  to  explode,  when  Lieutenant  Alston,  putting  down  the 
coffee  pot,  picked  up  the  shell  and  threw  it  into  a  deep  hole  made 
by  one  of  the  large  shells  of  the  fleet,  and  the  bomb,  bursting,  did 
no  damage.  He  resumed  his  duty  of  pouring  out  coffee  for  his 
men  as  if  nothing  had  occurred. 

Every  man  in  Butler's  Cavalry  loved  and  admired  him  (But 
ler).  They  always  saw  him  around  when  any  fighting  was  going 
on,  and  felt  that  no  matter  how  tight  a  place  he  ordered  them  into, 
they  had  to  "hold  the  fort"  until  he  brought  them  out.  It  would 
be  more  than  any  one  could  do  to  record  the  many  and  daily 
deeds  of  valor  performed  by  Butler's  Cavalry,  and  the  individual 
heroism  of  his  men.  The  surprise  and  attack  on  Kilpatrick's 
camp,  during  the  march  of  Sherman  through  North  Carolina,  I 
will  only  mention,  among  the  many  thrilling  incidents  witnessed 
that  day,  one  in  which  Lieutenant  John  P.  DeVeaux,  of  Charles 
ton,  Company  D,  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  figured. 
DeVeaux  was  on  all  occasions  one  of  the  bravest  men  I  have  ever 
known;  never  hesitating  an  instant  to  risk  his  life  for  a  friend. 
I  knew  that  General  Butler  was  a  frequent  witness  to  his  bravery, 
and  I  have  often  seen  him  select  Lieutenant  DeVeaux  for  some 
very  dangerous  mission.  During  the  hot  hand-to-hand  fight  in 
Kilpatrick's  camp  a  battery  of  artillery  on  a  slight  hill,  a  little 
distance  from  where  we  were  engaged,  was  playing  havoc  with 
our  men,  discharging  double  loads  of  schrapnel  into  us.  Some 
of  Butler's  command  commenced  to  concentrate  their  fire  upon 
the  men  working  these  guns,  and  soon  killed  or  knocked  out  all 
who  were  serving  the  guns  except  one  lieutenant.  He  seemed  to 
bear  a  charmed  life,  and  bravely  loaded  and  fired  the  one  gun 

28 — B.   C. 


434  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

left.  DeVeaux  called  for  some  men  to  charge  this  battery  with 
him;  there  was  so  much  noise  and  confusion  incident  to  such 
close  fighting  that  he  and  Captain  John  Humphries  of  the  Sixth 
regiment,  and  Glenn  Davis  were  the  only  ones  to  charge  towards 
this  battery.  The  Yankee  lieutenant  serving  the  gun  pulled  the 
lanyard  and  discharged  the  load  of  schrapnel  when  they  were  a 
short  distance  from  the  muzzle  of  the  cannon.  Lieutenant 
DeVeaux  was  shot  in  five  places,  fortunately  no  bones  were  shat 
tered.  Captain  Humphries  was  shot  in  the  arm,  afterwards 
died  of  his  wound  in  Charlotte,  N.  C.,  from  delayed  amputation. 
Both  of  their  horses  were  killed.  When  we  saw  DeVeaux  and 
Humphries  shot  down,  some  of  our  men  charged  up  to  this  bat 
tery,  served  so  gallantly  by  this  brave  and  cool  Yankee,  and  while 
he  was  in  the  act  of  reloading,  killed  him  with  a  pistol  shot. 
General  Butler,  who  witnessed  the  killing  of  the  Federal  lieu 
tenant,  said  it  was  a  shame  to  have  to  kill  such  a  brave  fellow. 

My  friend  Flinn  Davis  (who  died  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  many 
years  after  the  war)  was  taken  prisoner  while  on  picket  on  the 
7th  March,  1865,  by  Kilpatrick's  Cavalry,  three  days  before  the 
surprise  of  his  camp,  and  was  in  the  camp  with  several  hundred 
other  Confederate  prisoners  when  we  entered,  surprised  Kil- 
patrick,  and  released  all  of  the  prisoners.  He  was  treated  very 
cruelly  by  Kilpatrick's  men  who  captured  him — they  seemed  to 
be  particularly  bitter  against  Butler's  Cavalry,  and  did  not  give 
him  anything  to  eat  during  the  three  days  that  they  had  him.  He 
managed  to  pick  up  an  ear  of  corn  in  the  muddy  road  while  they 
were  marching  with  him,  and  putting  it  in  his  pocket  without 
their  seeing  it,  pinching  off  a  grain  occasionally  and  slipping  it 
to  his  mouth.  You  may  imagine  when  we  released  him,  that  he 
was  hungry.  The  first  thing  that  he  did  when  the  fighting  com 
menced  in  the  camp  was  to  seize  a  camp  kettle  that  some  of  the 
Yankees  had  on  a  fire,  and  sitting  on  the  ground  with  the  kettle 
was  eating  its  contents  ravenously  when  a  bullet  went  through 
the  bottom  of  it.  General  Butler  rode  by  and,  seeing  him,  said: 
"Well,  Davis,  what  are  you  doing?"  "I  am  getting  a  little  bite, 
General,"  he  replied,  "the  first  in  three  days;  will  be  with  the 
boys  in  a  minute." 

One  of  Kilpatrick's  men  who  was  guarding  our  men,  who  were 
taken  prisoners,  up  to  the  time  we  released  them,  was  a  large 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  435 

Dutchman,  a  very  cruel  fellow.  He  frequently  struck  the  pris 
oners  with  the  flat  of  his  sabre,  kicked  them  and  otherwise 
maltreated  them.  Many  swore  vengeance  upon  him,  and  they 
determined  to  get  even  with  him  if  an  opportunity  occurred. 
They  called  him  "Dutchey,"  behind  his  back,  of  course. 

When  Flinn  Davis  finished  with  the  camp  kettle  he  picked  up 
an  abandoned  Winchester  rifle,  mounted  a  fine  horse  (whose  rider 
was  persuaded  to  dismount  by  a  navy  bullet  in  his  breast)  and 
with  the  two  pistols  handed  him  by  one  of  his  brothers,  they  were 
making  things  lively  in  that  vicinity.  Flinn  asked  one  of  the 
recently  released  prisoners  who  was  fighting  near  him  if  he  had 
seen  "Dutchey."  The  man  said  yes,  that  he  was  behind  that  big 
blazed  pine  tree  (pointing  to  it).  Flinn  wanted  just  one  shot  at 
him.  "Dutchey"  never  moved  from  the  tree,  because  he  was 
loaded  down  with  lead  and  was  dead.  The  released  prisoners 
paid  him  special  attention  as  soon  as  the  Rebel  yell  of  Butler's 
men  was  heard  in  the  camp.  Moral:  Be  kind  to  those  in  your 
power,  for  we  know  not  what  a  day  will  bring  forth. 

Captain  Nathan  Davis  was  on  General  Hampton's  staff  during 
the  War  of  Secession  and  was  his  intimate  friend.  General 
Hampton  told  Captain  Davis  one  day  in  1864  that  he  wanted  a 
small  Colt's  pistol,  and  Captain  Davis  notified  his  nephew,  Glenn 
E.  Davis,  of  General  Hampton's  desire.  About  a  week  after, 
Glenn  pulled  in  a  Yankee  lieutenant  and  was  much  gratified  to 
find  that  the  Yank  had  exactly  the  kind  of  a  pistol  General 
Hampton  wanted,  and  immediately  relieved  him  of  a  beautiful 
ivory-handled  small  Colt,  also  a  belt  of  cartridges,  and  carried 
the  pistol  to  headquarters,  where  he  found  the  great  cavalry 
leader  seated  on  a  camp  stool  and  gave  him  the  pistol,  and  in 
answer  to  an  inquiry  told  how  he  got  possession  of  it.  Hampton 
admired  the  gun  very  much,  said  it  was  just  the  thing  he  wanted, 
and  seeing  that  the  belt  contained  a  number  of  cartridges,  said 
he  would  shoot  off  the  loads  and  load  it  with  fresh  cartridges. 
He  selected  a  small  tree  not  larger  than  a  man's  arm  about  twenty 
yards  off,  and  quickly  put  every  bullet  in  it;  some  of  the  shots 
were  a  foot  or  more  apart,  but  all  were  line  shots,  and  every  one 
would  have  been  a  body  hit  to  a  man  at  that  distance.  Glenn 
Davis  admired  his  shooting,  but  told  him  he  would  not  give  his 
pair  of  Navies  for  fifty  little  guns  like  his.  A  man  could  be  filled 


436  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

with  bullets  at  that  distance  and  still  be  able  to  shoot  back  at  you, 
but  one  ball  from  a  large  pistol  like  one  of  his  Navies,  at  four 
times  that  distance,  hitting  him  fair,  would  paralyze  him.  Gen 
eral  Hampton  said  that  he  did  not  expect  to  use  the  gun  unless 
in  very  close  quarters  and  told  Glenn  that  he  never  took  sight 
when  shooting  a  pistol,  that  he  looked  at  the  object  alone  and 
pulled  as  soon  as  he  raised  the  gun,  not  waiting  a  second;  that 
nine  times  out  of  ten  one  could  make  a  very  close  shot  that  way. 
Davis  told  him  that  he  doubted  if  many  knew  that.  Glenn  Davis 
said  that  his  experience  in  shooting  at  an  animated  target  was 
that  he  always  did  that,  and  seldom  failed  to  land  a  bullet  where 
he  wanted.  The  general  then  related  an  incident  to  Davis  which 
very  few  knew.  He  said  that  before  the  war  he  used  a  Colt's 
revolver  frequently  in  his  numerous  hunts.  The  old  style  of 
pistol  then  had  smooth  cylinders  that  contained  the  lead.  On  one 
occasion  this  cylinder  burst  when  the  general  was  shooting  it. 
He  saw  that  if  the  cylinders  were  grooved  the  pressure  when  fired 
would  be  more  equalized  and  the  danger  of  bursting  would  be 
obviated.  General  Hampton  then  wrote  to  Colt,  the  head  of  the 
arms  factory,  and  explained  fully  his  idea,  telling  him  if  he 
agreed  with  him  he  could  use  the  suggestion  as  his  own.  Colt 
patented  the  invention  and  sent  General  Hampton  a  very  fine 
pistol  specially  made,  and  thanked  him  for  the  idea.  Colt's  was 
the  first  factory  to  turn  out  these  improved  grooved-cylinder 
pistols  and  made  much  money  by  it.  All  pistols  are  now  made 
in  this  manner. 

General  Hampton  did  some  mighty  good  work  with  his  little 
ivory-handled  pistol  on  the'  llth  March,  1865,  when  he  led  the 
charge  in  the  streets  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C.,  so  graphically 
described  by  Hugh  Scott. 

Glenn  Davis  saw  General  Hampton  while  right  in  the  midst 
of  the  flying  Yankees  shoot  down  three  with  the  little  ivory- 
handled  pistol,  and  also  saw  him  kill  a  sergeant,  and  when  Glenn 
was  coming  back  from  the  charge  he  dismounted  to  see  what  this 
sergeant  had  of  value  and  appropriated  the  Yank's  suspenders — a 
beautiful  pair  of  silk  elastic  ones.  I  am  satisfied  they  were  the 
finest  if  not  the  only  pair  of  silk  suspenders  at  that  time — not  on 
Yankee  shoulders — in  the  Southern  Confederacy.  Glenn  wore 
them  many  years  after  the  war. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  437 

The  men  in  Butler's  division  looked  upon  him  as  perfection  as 
a  cavalry  leader.  These  brigades  were  commanded  by  Dunovant, 
Young  and  Rosser. 

On  the  1st  October,  1864,  when  General  Dunovant  was  killed, 
General  P.  M.  B.  Young  rode  with  one  aide  down  a  road  in  front 
of  where  his  command  was  righting.  He  halted,  being  some  dis 
tance  from  the  men,  and  intently  observed  the  enemy  through  his 
field  glasses.  Happening  to  look  back,  he  saw  a  group  of  Yankee 
officers  mounted  in  the  road  between  him  and  his  men.  He  saw 
in  an  instant  that  it  was  important  for  him  to  regain  his  com 
mand  as  soon  as  possible.  Putting  spurs  to  his  horse  (he  was 
always  splendidly  mounted)  he  dashed  at  full  speed,  hoping  to 
pass  them.  He  had  only  two  things  to  do,  either  to  be  captured 
or  run  past  them.  They  saw  him  coming,  and  when  near,  with 
level  pistols,  called  to  him  to  surrender.  Not  halting,  they 
greeted  him  with  a  shower  of  bullets.  When  passing  one  of 
these  Yankee  officers  near  enough  to  touch  him,  he  was  called 
upon  to  surrender.  "Surrender  hell,"  said  Young,  and  passing 
him  like  the  wind  he  gave  the  Yankee  a  cut  across  his  face  with 
his  riding  switch  (he  had  no  weapon),  and  was  soon  safe  among 
his  men.  Some  days  after  we  learned  from  prisoners  that  the 
officer  cut  by  General  Young  bore  the  mark  across  his  face  and 
was  much  ridiculed  by  his  brother  officers.  General  P.  M.  B. 
Young,  after  the  Avar,  served  several  terms  in  congress  with 
ability.  He  joined  the  "silent  majority"  several  years  ago. 

On  the  16th  day  of  November,  1863,  in  the  fight  at  Campbell's 
Station,  East  Tennessee,  General  M.  W.  Gary  was  hard  pressed 
and  was  falling  back,  but  was  contesting  every  inch  of  ground, 
and  promoted  two  men  of  his  command  on  the  battlefield  in  the 
most  unique  way,  which  doubtless  has  no  parallel  in  history. 
The  same  day  he  had  orders  to  that  effect  read  on  parade — one  to 
be  captain  for  "distinguished  piety  on  the  battlefield,"  and  the 
other  to  command  a  company  for  "extraordinary  profanity." 
It  happened  in  this  way:  The  general,  as  all  knew  him,  was 
paramount  a  fighter  and  had  the  gift  of  profanity  to  an  extra 
ordinary  degree.  He  used  to  say  that  there  was  nothing  like 
"cussing"  to  make  men  obey  an  order  quickly.  He  had  very  little 
faith  in  the  fighting  qualities  of  Avhat  he  called  a  psalm  singer, 
but  he  admitted  that  he  had  done  the  pious  man  an  injustice. 


438  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

On  this  occasion  at  Campbell's  Station,  Tenn.,  16th  November, 
1863,  his  command  had  to  retreat  rapidly  from  overwhelming 
numbers,  and  his  killed  and  wounded  were  left  where  they  fell. 
A  man  in  his  command  was  shot  and  fell  mortally  wounded. 
His  comrades  left  him  on  the  field,  but  when  the  "psalm  singer." 
the  Rev.  William  Thomas,  came  along,  he  stopped,  and  kneeling 
down  beside  the  dying  soldier  proceeded  to  offer  up  a  prayer  and 
to  take  his  last  messages  to  his  family.  Some  of  the  enemy,  seeing 
him  stop  on  the  field,  commenced  a  rapid  fire  upon  him;  he, 
regardless  of  the  flying  bullets,  stayed  the  few  minutes  until  the 
soul  of  the  wounded  comrade  took  its  flight.  The  enemy  stopped 
firing  upon  the  pious  and  brave  soldier,  and  he  was  cheered  both 
by  his  retreating  comrades  and  the  advancing  foe.  General  Gary 
complimented  him  upon  his  bravery,  and  told  him  he  would 
make  him  chaplain  for  "distinguished  piety"  on  the  battlefield. 

Now  the  "cussing"  man  won  his  promotion  in  this  wise:  It 
was  the  custom  of  General  Gary  to  visit  his  picket  posts  very 
frequently.  While  on  his  rounds  one  dark  and  rainy  night  he 
met  a  cavalryman  in  the  road.  Knowing  that  this  man  had  no 
business  to  be  out  of  camp,  General  Gary,  with  a  string  of  cuss 
words,  demanded  who  he  was  and  what  company  he  belonged  to. 
The  lone  cavalryman,  not  knowing  the  rank  of  his  questioner, 
"cussed  back"  at  the  general,  and,  as  the  general  expressed  it, 
made  the  "air  blue  with  cuss  words" ;  he  had  struck  at  last  a  man 
who  could  out-curse  him.  Finally  he  persuaded,  by  mild  words, 
the  cavalry  man  to  inform  him  that  he  was  a  sergeant  in  one  of 
the  companies  of  General  (Jjary's  command.  This  company,  in  a 
recent  fight,  had  lost  all  of  its  officers.  The  general  complimented 
the  soldier  on  his  swearing  abilities,  and  said  he  was  just  the  man 
to  command  that  company.  The  next  day  an  order  was  issued 
promoting  the  brave  religious  man  to  be  chaplain  of  his  regi 
ment  for  "distinguished  piety  on  the  battlefield,"  and  the 
"cussing"  man  to  the  command  of  his  company  for  "extraor 
dinary  profanity." 

General  Mart  Gary  was  a  gallant  officer  in  the  war,  and  in  1876 
did  much  to  help  redeem  the  State.  He  was  devoted  to  his 
mother.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Edgefield  village  9th  April, 
1881,  and  the  next  day  his  devoted  mother  died  at  Cokesbury, 


GENEEAL  M.   W.   GABY 


440  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

S.  C.  The  remains  of  this  gallant  officer  are  buried  by  the  side 
of  his  mother  at  old  Tabernacle  Church,  near  Cokesbury. 

The  Rev.  William  Thomas,  whose  prayers  over  a  dying  com 
rade  caused  two  armies  to  cease  firing  and  cheer  him  on  the  battle 
field  because  he  represented  Him  who  suffered  and  died  on  the 
cross  for  us  all,  died  1st  December,  1890.  Mr.  Thomas  was  a 
Christian.  A  Christian  is  not  a  mere  name  or  empty  profession ; 
it  is  a  great  and  noble  work,  a  work  of  difficulty  which  requires 
assiduous  application  and  continual  pains,  and  in  which  the 
greater  our  endeavors  and  advances  have  been  with  the  greater 
ardor  do  we  continually  strive  to  advance  higher  towards  per 
fection. 

There  is  a  tie  between  old  soldiers  that  none  but  old  soldiers 
can  understand.  After  the  war  the  Rev.  William  Thomas  was 
called  to  Edgefield,  S.  C.,  and  when  General  Gary  heard  that  the 
Methodist  parsonage  needed  furniture  the  necessary  articles  were 
soon  in  the  house  at  no  cost  to  Mr.  Thomas.  When  General  Gary 
died  his  old  friend  and  comrade,  Mr.  Thomas,  preached  his 
funeral. 

The  survivors  of  these  stirring  times  are  rapidly  passing  away, 
and  soon  there  will  be  none  to  recall  their  brave  deeds.  The  souls 
of  those  giving  their  lives  for  their  country  certainly  find  the 
gates  of  Paradise  open  to  them. 

"Oh !  if  there  be,  on  this  earthly  sphere, 
A  boon  or  an  offering  that  Heaven  holds  dear ; 
'Tis  the  last  libation  that  liberty  draws 
From  the  heart  that  bleeds  and  breaks  in  her  cause." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  441 


THE  CITADEL  BOYS 

Spartanburg,  S.  C.,  July  27,  1908. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  letters  in  The  State  are  always  interesting— 
the  last  one  more  particularly,  as  it  deals  with  incidents  in  which 
I  participated.  I  was  in  the  Citadel  Cadet  Corps  Brigade — in 
General  Stephen  Elliott's  brigade.  We  fought  on  the  skirmish 
line  near  Fayetteville  all  day  before  Hampton's  fray  in  the  streets, 
built  three  lines  of  rifle  pits  with  our  bayonets,  tin  cups  and  tin 
plates,  completing  the  last  one  at  2  o'clock  on  the  morning 
referred  to,  and  passed  through  the  city  and  over  the  river  just 
about  3  a.  m.  Camped  in  a  pine  barren,  a  mile  beyond  the  river, 
and  fell  asleep  on  falling  down  just  where  we  stopped,  without 
rations  all  day  and  the  day  before.  I  was  called  early  the  next 
morning,  as  cadet  corporal  Company  A — that  grand  company  of 
boys,  whom  Governor  Thompson  in  an  address  before  the  alumni 
at  Charleston  challenged  the  world  to  equal  for  bravery  and  loy 
alty  to  duty — to  take  ten  men  from  each  company  in  our  brigade, 
and,  with  axes  and  spades,  fell  the  trees  and  charge  the  breast 
works  on  the  north  side  of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  so  that  we  might 
protect  Hampton  and  Butler  as  they  crossed  the  river — thus 
enabling  us  to  fire  over  the  river  at  their  following  enemies. 
These  breatsworks  were  built  to  defend  Fayetteville  from  the 
north.  We  charged  them  hurriedly  to  defend  Hampton  as  he 
crossed  to  the  north  from  Fayetteville.  I  had  barely  completed 
these  tasks  and  had  placed  my  men  above  and  below  the  bridge 
to  fire  on  the  enemy  as  they  followed  closely  on  Hampton's  rear 
guard,  when  his  advance  struck  the  bridge  in  a  gallop.  Then  the 
shells  began  to  fall  all  over  the  old  field,  which  lay  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  in  our  rear,  as  we  lay  on  the  banks  of  the  river. 

General  Hampton,  the  last  time  I  saw  him  during  the  war, 
called  me  and  said,  kindly  remembering  me  as  a  cadet  when  he 
relied  on  our  corps  two  years  before:  "My  dear  boy,  get  your 
men  out  of  here  as  soon  as  possible.  Scatter  them  out  all  over 
this  old  field,  as  I  am  doing  my  men,  so  they  can't  get  you  in  a 
bunch."  Well,  we  scattered,  and  the  shells  that  fell  around  us 


442  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

so  glibly  aided  us  to  move  up  lively.  I  did  not  regain  my  com 
mand  until  dark  that  night — and  still  without  rations  except  one 
goose  that  had  been  captured  that  day  by  one  of  our  mess.  "We 
cooked  it  all  night,  with  flour  dumplings,  made  up  of  cold  water 
without  shortening.  But  it  was  a  delightful  breakfast  anyway. 
That  day  we  advanced  to  the  front  of  Hardee's  army  and  carried 
there  some  prisoners  that  Hampton  and  Butler  had  captured  in 
their  fight  described  in  your  article  on  Kilpatrick's  defeat.  On 
to  Raleigh  ahead  of  the  army,  where  we  left  them  in  charge  of 
others  and  we  returned  to  South  Carolina,  and  were  stationed  at 
Spartanburg  and  Greenville  to  head  off  Kirk's  raiders,  who  were 
threatening  these  two  places  with  their  presence.  How  I  won 
dered  when  I  read  of  the  fight  of  our  gallant  brothers  in  their 
fight.  The  Citadel  boys  in  Humphrey's  company,  they  were 
alongside  each  other,  each  doing  his  duty  for  his  country  and 
neither  knowing  the  presence  of  the  other.  Humphreys  killed, 
dear  old  Gabe  Hodges  wounded;  these  two  knightly  gentlemen 
were  bosom  friends  of  my  own.  Had  I  known  of  their  distress, 
hampered  as  I  was  with  my  own  duties,  I  would  have  made  many 
efforts  to  see  them.  Gabe  Hodges,  how  I  remember  him,  and 
dear  Dick  Quattlebaum,  another  cadet  who  lost  his  life  with 
Colonel  Fleming  in  the  crater  at  Petersburg;  brave  and  gallant 
gentlemen,  without  fear  and  without  reproach.  Poor  Hodges 
lived  to  die  a  horrible  death  from  an  accident  in  his  cotton  gin. 
The  other  two,  with  many  others,  as  gallant  boys  as  ever  followed 
any  flag — John  Neill,  Nichols,  of  Sumter,  Patterson  and  many 
others. 

The  Citadel  needs  no  'veil  to  cover  her  gallant  boys.  She  is 
proud  of  their  record — and  will  ever  be — for  all  who  leave  her 
portals  have  imbibed  enough  of  honor  and  pride  to  make  them 
ever  and  always  patriots  and  defenders  of  all  that  is  honorable 
and  glorious.  I  couldn't  refrain  from  this  communication,  as  it 
stirred  up  the  depths  of  my  heart  to  know  that  side  by  side, 
waiting  to  work,  we  were  all  there,  each  fighting  in  his  own  com 
pany  and  each  doing  his  exalted  duty  and  neither  knowing  the 
others  were  there.  How  glad  had  we -known  of  this. 

Yours  sincerely, 

GEO.  R.  DEAN. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  443 

GENERAL  KILPATRICK'S  NARROW  ESCAPE 

BY  GENERAL  M.  C.  BUTLER. 

We  had  marched  all  the  day  preceding  the  morning  of  the 
attack  on  Kilpatrick's  camp  in  North  Carolina,  March  10,  1865, 
in  a  drenching  rain.  My  division  was  in  front.  Humphrey's 
squadron  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  But 
ler's  brigade,  commanded  by  General  E.  M.  Law,  was  the  advance 
guard  of  the  column,  Wheeler's  division  bringing  up  the  rear. 

About  dusk  Humphrey  halted  at  the  intersection  of  a  road 
leading  toward  Fayetteville,  and  upon  my  riding  up  to  learn  the 
cause,  he  pointed  out  the  sign  of  a  heavy  mounted  column  having 
recently  passed  ahead  of  us,  evidently  Kilpatrick's  cavalry,  of 
Sherman's  army.  While  we  were  discussing  the  situation  we 
discovered  a  squad  of  about  thirty  cavalrymen  coming  up  the 
road.  On  learning  from  Humphrey  that  he  had  nobody  down 
that  road,  I  moved  out  to  meet  the  squad,  and  when  within  hail 
ing  distance,  it  being  too  dark  to  recognize  who  they  were,  I 
asked,  "Who  comes  there?"  The  reply  was,  "Fifth  Kentucky." 
I  knew  that  to  be  one  of  Kilpatrick's  regiment.  So  I  said  to  the 
man  at  the  head  of  the  column,  "Ride  up,  sir;  I  want  to  speak 
with  you."  Kilpatrick's  column  having  just  passed,  of  which  I 
have  no  doubt  this  squad  was  the  rear  guard,  the  man,  who  turned 
out  to  be  the  officer  in  command,  rode  up  to  me  with  his  orderly, 
supposing  I  was  a  friend.  They  followed  me  a  few  steps  into 
the  midst  of  Humphrey's  men,  leaving  the  squad  halted  in  the 
road.  I  turned,  with  my  pistol  presented,  and  demanded  the  sur 
render  of  the  two.  Nothing  else  was  left  for  them  to  do.  After 
disarming  the  prisoners,  I  whispered  to  Humphey,  General  Law 
having  ridden  up,  to  send  out,  surround  the  squad  of  the  Fifth 
Kentucky,  and  take  them  in.  He  very  promptly  carried  out  the 
instructions  and  brought  in  the  twenty-eight  or  thirty  men,  with 
a  regimental  stand  of  colors,  without  firing  a  shot. 

On  my  reporting  these  facts  to  General  Hampton,  he  decided 
to  attack  Kilpatrick  at  daylight  next  morning.  I  accordingly 
followed  in  his  wake  about  four  miles,  and  bivouacked  on  the 


444  BVTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

roadside  without  unsaddling  or  making  fires,  although  it  was  a 
cold,  rainy  March  night,  in  the  open  pine  w<)ods.  I  established 
my  headquarters  for  the  night  on  the  road,  and  with  a  pine  root 
for  a  pillow  slept  on  the  ground,  with  my  bridle  on  my  arm, 
covered  with  my  overcoat.  I  threw  out  a  line  of  dismounted 
skirmishers  in  front,  with  videttes  Avell  in  advance  of  the  skir 
mishers.  Soon  after  the  videttes  were  posted  one  of  Kilpatrick's 
lieutenants  rode  into  our  lines,  and  was  brought  to  my  head 
quarters.  Getting  all  possible  information  from  him,  as  to  the 
location  of  Kilpatrick's  headquarters,  about  midnight  we  recon- 
noitered,  and  found  he  had  no  pickets  out  to  guard  his  rear,  which 
enabled  us  to  ride  almost  up  to  his  campfires  without  being  dis 
covered.  He  had  moved  round  the  head  of  a  swamp  and  pitched 
his  camp  in  front  of  it,  with  his  rear  and  right  protected  by  the 
swamp,  but  his  left  entirely  exposed. 

It  was  agreed  between  Generals  Hampton,  Wheeler  and  myself 
that  we  would  attack  at  daylight  next  morning;  that,  inasmuch 
as  Wheeler's  command  was  stretched  back  for  some  miles  in 
column  of  fours,  I  should  close  up  my  division  in  column  of  regi 
ments  and  be  prepared  to  move  when  the  head  of  Wheeler's 
column  appeared  in  my  rear;  that  I  should  follow  up  the  road 
taken  by  Kilpatrick,  move  around  the  head  of  the  swamp,  as  he 
had  done,  and  fall  suddenly  on  his  camp  from  that  (the  west) 
side,  while  Wheeler  was  to  move  through  the  woods  to  the  right 
and  attack  from  the  rear.  Young's  brigade,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Gid  Wright,  of  the  Cobb  Legion,  was  moved  to  the 
front,  having  occupied  the  rear  in  the  day's  march.  I  sent  for 
Colonel  Wright,  informed  him  of  our  plans,  and  directed  him  to 
select  a  prudent  but  bold  captain  to  lead  the  advance  squadron 
in  the  attack,  and  that  he  should  follow  close  on  the  attacking 
squadron  and  throwT  a  regiment  at  the  time  into  the  camp,  and 
that  I  would  be  in  striking  distance,  with  Law  in  command  of  my 
old  brigade.  Colonel  Wright  selected  Captain  Bostick,  and 
ordered  him  to  report  to  me  for  instructions.  After  describing 
the  location  of  the  house  in  which  Kilpatrick  was  stopping,  I 
ordered  him,  on  entering  his  camp  at  daylight,  to  rush  straight 
for  the  house,  surround  it,  and  hold  his  position  until  we  could 
come  to  his  assistance ;  that  I  wished  to  take  Kilpatrick  prisoner. 
Having  completed  all  arrangements,  I  gave  the  order  to  advance. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-186.5.  445 

Just  as  the  day  was  dawning,  in  a  murky,  misty  morning,  Wright 
moved  promptly,  and  I  followed  immediately  in  his  rear,  at  a 
trot,  with  the  other  brigades.  As  I  turned  the  head  of  the  swamp 
and  struck  the  camp  I  witnessed  a  scene  of  confusion  and  dis 
turbance  such  as  I  had  never  seen  before.  Kilpatrick  did  not 
have  a  vidette  or  picket  out,  or,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  not  even  a 
camp  guard.  The  result  was,  we  found  his  men  asleep  and  taken 
entirely  by  surprise.  I  had  not  advanced  far  into  the  camp 
when  I  was  astonished  to  meet  a  hundred  and  thirty  or  forty 
Confederates  rushing  wildly  toward  us.  At  first  I  thought  Wright 
had  been  repulsed,  but  it  turned  out  they  were  prisoners  whom 
Kilpatrick  had  taken,  and  whom  Wright's  vigorous  and  unex 
pected  onslaught  had  released  from  their  guards,  and  they  were 
making  good  their  escape.  I  sent  them  on  to  the  rear  and  moved 
on,  passed  Kilpatrick's  headquarters,  through  his  artillery,  wagon 
and  ambulance  train.  Anticipating  that  Wright's  command 
would  become  scattered,  I  halted  Law  near  the  entrance  to  the 
camp  to  take  charge  of  the  prisoners,  etc.  Wright  had  gone  clear 
through  the  camp,  and,  of  course,  his  command  was  much  scat 
tered.  I,  therefore,  halted  in  the  midst  of  the  camp  and  sent 
back  for  Law  to  move  in,  complete  the  capture  and  take  posses 
sion.  To  my  dismay,  I  learned  that  General  Hampton,  without 
my  knowledge,  had  ordered  Law  to  some  other  point,  so  that  my 
messenger  could  not  find  him.  I  then  hoped  for  the  arrival  of 
Wheeler's  command  from  the  other  side.  He  came  through  him 
self  with  a  few  of  his  staff  and  escort.  He  rode  up  and  inquired 
about  my  command.  I  replied,  "Scattered  like  the  devil;  where 
is  yours?"  He  said  he  had  encountered  a  bog  through  which  his 
division  could  not  pass,  and  that  he  had  ordered  it  to  make  a 
circuit  to  the  left  and  come  around  on  my  track.  This,  of  course, 
took  time,  and  in  the  meantime  Kilpatrick's  1,500  dismounted  men 
had  recovered  from  the  shock  of  our  first  attack  and  gathered 
themselves  behind  pine  trees,  and  with  their  rapid-firing  Spencer- 
carbines  attacked  us  savagely  and  finally  drove  us  out.  I  man 
aged  to  gather  up  fragments  of  Wright's  brigade  and  charged 
the  rallying  Federals,  but  they  had  got  to  their  artillery  and,  with 
their  carbines,  made  it  so  hot  for  the  handful  of  us  that  we  had  to 
retire.  It  was  at  the  head  of  this  charge  that  Lieutenant-Colonel 


446  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

King,  of  the  Cobb  Legion,  was  killed.  In  fact,  I  lost  sixty-two 
men  there  in  about  five  minutes'  time. 

While  I  was  sitting  on  my  horse  near  Kilpatrick's  artillery  and 
wagons,  hoping  for  Wheeler  or  Law,  I  witnessed  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  duels  between  two  men  on  horseback  that  I  had  ever 
heard  of.  As  I  have  observed,  I  rode  into  the  midst  of  Kil 
patrick's  camp,  passed  his  headquarters,  and,  as  Wright  had 
swept  through  from  our  side  of  attack,  I  concluded  they  were 
ours,  especially  as  I  expected  Wheeler  to  come  in  from  the  other 
side  and  clinch  the  work.  You  may  imagine  my  surprise,  then, 
when  I  discovered  a  mounted  man  approaching  us  and  showing 
fight.  This  was  before  the  dismounted  men  had  rallied.  About 
the  same  time  I  noticed  a  Confederate  moving  out  to  meet  him, 
who,  I  supposed,  was  a  member  of  the  Cobb  Legion.  His  back 
was  to  me,  and  I  could  not  identify  him  in  the  early  dawn.  How 
ever,  I  said  to  myself,  "They  are  about  matched ;  I  will  see  it  out 
without  interfering."  They  got  within  about  ten  paces  of  each 
other,  when  the  Federal  fired  first,  followed  in  an  instant  by  a 
shot  from  the  Confederate's  revolver.  The  Federal  fired  a  second 
time,  and  the  Confederate  fired  almost  simultaneouly,  and,  I  dis 
covered,  hit  his  antagonist,  but  the  Federal  managed  to  fire  a 
third  shot,  and  with  the  report  of  the  Confederate's  third  fire  the 
Federal  tumbled  from  his  horse,  mortally  wounded.  I  dismissed 
the  matter  from  my  mind,  and  was  surprised  afterward  to  learn 
that  the  Confederate  was  my  brother,  Captain  James  Butler,  who 
had  come  from  the  Trans-Mississippi  department,  where  he  had 
commanded  a  company  of  partisans  with  Price  and  McCullough, 
and  was  serving  temporarily  on  my  staff.  It  was  the  gamest  fight 
I  ever  saw,  and  there  I  was,  a  silent  spectator,  without  suspecting 
that  my  own  brother  was  one  of  the  parties  to  a  duel  aV  outrance. 

And  now  for  the  sequel.  In  a  conversation  with  General  Kil- 
patrick  about  this  affair,  after  the  war,  he  told  me  he  had  walked 
out  in  his  slippers  about  daylight,  as  was  his  usual  custom,  and 
scarcely  got  out  of  the  house  when  he  heard  the  "Rebel  yell."  He 
said  he  thought  to  himself,  "Here  is  four  years'  hard  fighting  for 
a  major-general's  commission  gone  up  with  a  surprise";  that  in  a 
very  few  minutes  a  Rebel  dashed  up  to  him  and  asked,  "Where  is 
General  Kilpatrick?"  to  which,  he  said,  he  replied,  "There  he  goes 
on  that  black  horse,"  pointing  to  a  man  making  off  on  a  black 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  447 

horse;  that  thereupon  the  Rebel  pursued  the  man  on  the  black 
horse,  and  that  he  (Kilpatrick)  then  mounted  the  nearest  horse, 
in  his  night  clothes,  and  escaped. 

My  theory  has  always  been  that  the  man  who  accosted  Kil 
patrick  was  Captain  Bostick,  and  being  anxious  to  take  him 
prisoner,  was  misled  by  Kilpatrick's  ruse.  At  any  rate,  we  did 
not  get  him,  but  took  in  475  of  his  men  as  prisoners,  and  resumed 
our  march  towards  Fayetteville,  which  was  not  many  miles  to  the 
north  of  us. 


448  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


THE  SCENES  OF  A  YANKEE  MARCH 

A  short  time  previous  to  the  final  attack  on  Port  Henry,  the 
Yankees,  several  thousand  strong,  marched  out  to  a  reconnoisance 
in  force  in  that  direction.  The  scenes  of  the  return  march  are 
thus  described  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Chicago  Tribune : 

"The  march  has  been,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  a  most  disgraceful  one. 
Pillage,  arson,  murder,  have  been  its  accompaniments.  The  pop 
ulation  have  fled  precipitately  before  the  approach  of  the  column, 
and  their  houses  have  been  stripped  of  everything  portable,  useful 
or  otherwise — and  that  which  was  not  portable  has  been 
destroyed.  One  fine  country  residence  was  burned  to  the  ground, 
and  another  was  fired  and  partially  burnt.  A  fine  tobacco  house 
was  laid  in  ruins.  From  the  village  of  Mayfield  to  the  Tennessee 
Eiver  if  there  is  a  domestic  fowl,  calf,  pig  or  anything  living  that 
could  furnish  food  for  men  disgusted  with  hard  bread  and  salt 
meat,  left  alive,  it  is  because  it  failed  to  be  discovered.  The  vil 
lage  of  Murray  was  literally  pillaged  of  everything.  Stores, 
shops  and  houses  were  broken  open,  and  everything  that  could 
appeal  to  a  soldier's  fancy  taken  away.  We  have  been  followed 
into  this  camp  by  scores  of  farmers  searching  for  mules  and  horses 
that  have  been  driven  off  by  the  straggling  soldiers.  A  general 
order  has  been  issued  to  commanders  of  regiments  to  have  all 
such  property  turned  loose  before  leaving  this  place.  A  strag 
gling  soldier  on  the  march  was  accosted  by  a  citizen  on  discov 
ering  him  behind  his  premises,  when  words  ran  high,  resulting  in 
a  taunt  from  the  citizen  that  the  Yankee  soldiers  were  all  d — d 
cowards,  whereupon  the  soldier  deliberately  fixed  his  bayonet 
and  ran  the  citizen  through,  killing  him  instantly.  It  is  reported 
that  a  citizen  of  Mayfield  was  shot  by  the  soldiery.  Still  another 
case  of  a  person  being  killed  between  Murray  and  this  place  is 
reported.  The  citizens,  maddened  to  frenzy,  have  finally  armed 
themselves  as  best  they  can,  and  are  hanging  on  our  rear,  shooting 
down  stragglers.  Pickets  are  also  suffering  the  consequences  of 
this  inhuman  warfare ;  two  pickets  of  the  Second  Illinois  Cavalry 
who  were  out  night  before  last  have  not  returned  nor  been  heard 
from.  The  consequences  of  such  a  march  through  a  territory  of 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  449 

which  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  at  least  are  friends,  and  all 
sought  to  be  made  such,  must  be  apparent  to  all.  Our  enemies 
will  be  multiplied  and  our  friends  proportionately  decreased. 
The  people  of  western  Kentucky  have  had  a  severe  lesson,  and 
will  hereafter  shudder  at  the  announcement  of  the  approach  of 
the  Federal  army." 

Port  Henry  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Yankees  on  the  6th  Feb 
ruary,  1862. 

What  Sherman  did  on  his  march  through  Georgia  and  the 
Carolinas  was  much  worse  than  the  above,  which  reminds  us  of 
a  young  man  when  he  went  to  see  his  sweetheart.  She  said, 
"Darling,  please  tell  me  the  difference  between  a  jackass  and  a 
mule."  "Why,"  he  says,  "my  dear,  a  jackass  is  just  like  a  mule, 
only  a  little  more  so." 

My  desire  is  to  publish  nothing  but  the  truth  and  to  state  the 
facts  as  they  happened  as  near  as  possible.  As  Dick  Wash  said 
to  Stan  Griffin  when  he  was  cursing  the  preacher  at  Antioch 
church :  "State  facts,  Stan — Stan,  state  facts,"  as  he  patted  him 
on  the  shoulder. 

Captain  Daniel  Oakley,  of  the  Second  Regiment,  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  in  "Battles  and  Leaders,"  says  this :  "It  was  sad  to 
see  the  wanton  destruction  of  property,  which  was  the  work  of 
'bummers'  who  were  marauding  through  the  country  committing 
every  sort  of  outrage;  there  was  no  restraint,  except  with  the 
column  or  the  regular  foraging  parties.  The  country  was  neces 
sarily  left  to  take  care  of  itself  and  become  a  howling  waste. 
The  coffee  coolers  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were  archangels 
compared  to  our  bummers,  who  often  fell  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
Wheeler's  Cavalry  and  were  never  heard  of  again,  meeting  a  fate 
richly  deserved." 

Another  Northern  soldier,  writing  for  the  Detroit  Free  Press, 
gives  the  following  account:  After  describing  the  burning  of 
Marietta,  in  which  the  writer  says,  among  others  things,  "Soldiers 
rode  from  house  to  house,  entered  without  ceremony,  and  kindled 
fires  in  garrets  and  closets  and  stood  by  to  see  that  they  were  not 
extinguished."  Again  he  says:  "At  the  very  beginning  of  the 
campaign  at  Dalton  the  Federal  soldiery  had  received  encourage 
ment  to  become  vandals.  When  Sherman  cut  loose  from  Atlanta 
everybody  had  license  to  throw  off  restraint  and  make  Georgia 

29— B.  C. 


450  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

drain  the  bitter  cup.  The  Federal  who  wants  to  learn  what  it 
was  to  license  an  army  to  become  vandals  shguld  mount  a  horse 
at  Atlanta  and  follow  Sherman's  route  for  fifty  miles.  He  can 
hear  stories  from  the  lips  of  women  that  would  make  him 
ashamed  of  the  flag  that  waved  over  him  as  he  went  into  battle. 
When  the  army  had  passed  nothing  was  left  but  a  trail  of  deso 
lation  and  despair.  No  houses  escaped  robbery,  no  woman 
escaped  insult,  no  building  escaped  firebrand,  except  by  some 
strange  interposition.  War  may  license  an  army  to  subsist  on 
the  enemy,  but  civilized  warfare  stops  at  live  stock,  forage  and 
provisions.  It  does  not  enter  the  houses  of  the  sick  and  helpless 
and  rob  women  of  their  finger  rings  and  carry  off  their  clothing." 

The  above  was  simply  "hell  broke  loose  in  Georgia." 

Alexander  H.  Stephens,  the  vice-president  of  the  Confederate 
States,  who  was  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  Georgia  ever  pro 
duced,  said  in  one  of  his  speeches  advising  against  secession 
before  the  State  seceded,  that  in  case  Georgia  did  secede,  that 
large  armies  would  invade  the  country.  But  he  did  not  realize 
how  terrible  it  would  be. 

Like  the  preacher  at  sea  in  a  great  storm.  When  the  boat  was 
tossing  and  the  waves  running  high,  the  reverend  gentleman  said 
to  the  captain,  "Do  you  think  we  are  in  much  danger?"  and  when 
the  good  captain  said,  "Yes,  we  will  all  be  in  heaven  in  five 
minutes,"  the  preached  exclaimed,  "Oh,  Captain,  you  don't  think 
it  can  be  that  bad." 

In  Savannah  General  Sherman  said  that  he  would  take  his 
gloves  off  in  South  Carolina — and  he  did.  Sherman's  army  intro 
duced  the  nameless  crime'  in  our  country — such  a  thing  was  never 
heard  of  before  in  our  State. 

Butler's  cavalry  would  shoot  these  brutes  down  like  so  many 
mad  dogs.  Every  one  of  Sherman's  "bummers"  when  captured 
would  exclaim,  "Please  don't  shoot  me,"  and  would  offer  our 
cavalry  something  that  they  had  stolen  to  spare  their  lives.  I  sup 
pose  they  thought  they  ought  to  have  been  killed.  On  the  after 
noon  of  the  21st  February,  1865,  General  Butler  and  his  couriers 
charged  some  "bummers"  and  they  scattered  through  the  woods 
like  so  many  wild  turkeys.  The  one  I  captured  offered  me  a 
lady's  beautiful  riding  whip  and  begged  me  not  to  kill  him.  He 
had  thrown  his  weapons  away  before  I  caught  him.  It  was 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  451 

fortunate  for  me  that  he  had,  for  my  pistol  was  empty,  so  I 
double-quicked  him  to  General  Butler.  I  take  the  following  from 
a  Yankee  history,  "Kilpatrick  and  Our  Cavalry,"  by  James 
Moore,  M.  D. : 

Headquarters  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  the  Field,  February  24,  1865. 
Lieutenant-General  Wade  Hampton,  Commanding  Cavalry  Forces,  C.  8.  A. 

GENEBAL:  It  is  officially  reported  to  me  that  our  foraging  parties  are 
murdered  after  capture  and  labelled,  "Death  to  all  foragers."  One  instance 
of  a  lieutenant  and  seven  men  near  Chesterfield,  and  another  of  twenty 
near  a  ravine  eighty  rods  from  the  main  road  about  three  miles  from 
Feasterville.  I  have  ordered  a  similar  number  of  prisoners  in  our  hands  to 
be  disposed  of  in  like  manner.  I  hold  about  1,000  prisoners  captured  in 
various  ways,  and  can  stand  it  as  long  as  you,  but  I  hardly  think  these 
murders  are  committed  by  your  knowledge,  and  would  suggest  that  you 
give  notice  to  the  people  at  large  that  every  life  taken  by  them  simply 
results  in  the  death  of  one  of  your  Confederates.  Of  course,  you  cannot 
question  my  right  to  forage  on  the  country.  It  is  a  war-right  as  old  as 
history.  The  manner  of  exercising  it  varies  with  circumstances,  and  if  the 
civil  authorities  will  supply  my  requisitions  I  will  forbid  all  foraging.  But 
I  find  no  civil  authorities  that  can  respond  to  calls  for  forage  or  provisions, 
and,  therefore,  must  collect  directly  of  the  people.  I  have  no  doubt  this  is 
the  occasion  of  much  misbehavior  on  the  part  of  our  men,  but  I  cannot 
permit  an  enemy  to  judge  or  punish  with  wholesale  murder. 

Personally,  I  regret  the  bitter  feelings  engendered  by  this  war;  but  they 
were  to  be  expected,  and  I  simply  allege  that  those  who  struck  the  first 
blow,  and  made  war  inevitable,  ought  not,  in  fairness,  to  reproach  us  for 
the  natural  consequences ;  I  merely  assert  our  war-right  to  forage,  and  my 
resolve  to  protect  to  the  utmost  my  foragers  to  the  extent  of  life  for  life. 

I  am  with  respect,  Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN, 
Major-General  U.  S.  A. 

Sherman  contradicts  himself,  for  he  says,  in  his  Mem.,  page 
182:  "I  would  not  restrain  the  army,  lest  its  vigor  and  energy 
should  be  impaired." 

Headquarters  in  the  Field,  February  27,  1865. 
Major-Oeneral  W.  T.  Sherman,  United  States  Army. 

GENERAL  :  Your  communication  of  the  24th  inst.  reached  me  today.  In  it 
you  state  it  has  been  officially  reported  that  your  foraging  parties  were 
"murdered"  after  captures,  and  you  go  on  to  say  that  you  have  ordered  a 
number  of  Confederate  soldiers  to  be  "murdered." 

You  characterized  your  order  in  proper  terms,  for  the  public  voice,  even 
in  your  own  country,  where  it  seldom  dares  to  express  in  vindication  of 


452  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

truth,   honor   or  justice,   will   surely  agree  with   you   in   pronouncing  you 
guilty  of  murder  if  your  order  is  carried  out. 

Before  discussing  this  portion  of  your  letter  I  beg  to  assure  you  for  every 
soldier  of  mine  "murdered"  by  you  I  shall  have  executed  at  once  two  of 
yours,  giving  in  all  cases  preference  to  any  officers  who  may  be  in  my 
hands. 

In  reference  to  the  statement  you  make  regarding  the  death  of  your 
foragers,  I  have  only  to  say  that  I  know  nothing  of  it;  that  no  orders 
given  by  me  authorize  the  killing  of  prisoners  after  capture,  and  that  I 
do  not  believe  my  men  killed  any  of  yours,  except  under  circumstances  in 
which  it  was  perfectly  legitimate  and  proper  they  should  kill  them.  It  is  a 
part  of  the  system  of  the  thieves  whom  you  designate  as  your  foragers  to 
fire  dwellings  of  those  citizens  whom  they  have  robbed. 

To  check  this  inhuman  system,  which  is  fully  execrated  by  every  civilized 
nation,  I  have  directed  my  men  to  shoot  down  all  of  your  men  who  are 
caught  burning  houses.  This  order  shall  remain  in  force  as  long  as  you 
disgrace  the  profession  of  arms  by  allowing  your  men  to  destroy  private 
dwellings. 

You  say  that  I  cannot,  of  course,  question  your  right  to  forage  on  the 
country.  It  is  a  right  as  old  as  history.  I  do  not,  sir,  question  this  right. 
But  there  is  a  right  older  even  than  this,  and  one  inalienable.  The  right 
that  every  man  has  to  defend  his  home  and  to  protect  those  who  are 
dependent  upon  him.  And  from  my  heart  I  wish  that  every  old  man  and 
boy  in  my  country  who  can  fire  a  gun  would  shoot  down,  as  he  would  a 
wild  beast,  the  men  who  are  desolating  their  land,  burning  their  houses 
and  insulting  their  women.  You  are  particular  in  defining  war  rights. 
May  I  ask  if  you  enumerate  among  them  the  right  to  fire  upon  a  defense 
less  city  without  notice,  to  burn  that  city  to  the  ground  after  it  had  been 
surrendered  by  the  authorities  who  claimed,  though  in  vain,  that  protec 
tion  which  is  always  accorded  in  civilized  warfare  to  non-combatants ;  fire 
the  dwelling  houses  of  citizens  after  robbing  them,  and  perpetrate  even 
darker  crimes  than  these  crimes,  too  black  to  be  mentioned. 

You  have  permitted,  if  you  have  not  ordered,  the  commission  of  these 
outrages  against  humanity  and  the  rules  of  war;  you  fired  into  the  City 
of  Columbia,  without  a  word  of  warning,  after  its  surrender  by  the  mayor, 
who  demanded  protection  to  private  property;  you  laid  the  whole  city  in 
ashes,  leaving  amid  its  ruins  thousands  of  old  men  and  helpless  women  and 
children,  who  are  likely  to  perish  of  starvation  and  exposure. 

Your  line  can  be  traced  by  the  lurid  light  of  burning  houses,  and  in  more 
than  one  household  there  is  an  agony  far  more  bitter  than  death. 

The  Indian  scalped  his  victim  regardless  of  sex  or  age;  but,  with  all  his 
barbarity,  he  always  respected  the  persons  of  his  female  captives.  Your 
soldiers,  more  savage  than  the  Indian,  insult  those  whose  natural  protectors 
are  absent. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  only  to  request  that  when  you  have  any  of  my  men 
disposed  of,  or  "murdered,"  for  the  terms  appear  to  be  synonymous  with 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  453 

you,  you  will  let  me  hear  of  it,  in  order  that  I  may  know  what  action  to 
take  in  the  matter. 

In  the  meantime  I  shall  hold  fifty-six  of  your  men  as  hostages  for  those 
whom  you  have  ordered  to  be  executed. 

I  am  yours,  etc., 

WADE  HAMPTON, 

Lieutenant-General. 

When  Sherman's  army  marched  through  Fairfield  County, 
S.  C.,  three  gentlemen  who  had  passed  about  seventy  mile  rocks 
on  life's  journey  took  to  the  tall  timber  and  when  hunger  had 
forced  them  out  of  the  woods  they  approached  a  house,  and  one 
of  them  said  to  the  boy  in  the  front  yard,  "Go  and  tell  the  lady 
(whose  home  was  not  in  the  line  of  march)  that  three  gentlemen 
formerly  of  affluence,  but  suddenly  reduced  to  poverty,  would  like 
to  have  breakfast."  It  is  useless  to  say  they  enjoyed  the  Con 
federate  coffee  made  of  toasted  cornmeal,  and  other  things  in 
keeping  with  the  times. 

Here  is  a  letter  by  a  Yankee  lieutenant  to  his  wife : 

Camp  near  Camden,  S.  C.,  February  20,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE  :  I  have  no  time  for  particulars.  We  have  had  a  glorious 
time  in  this  State.  Unrestricted  license  to  burn  and  plunder  was  the  order 
of  the  day.  The  chivalry  have  been  stripped  of  most  of  their  valuables. 
Gold  watches,  silver  pichers,  cups,  spoons,  forks,  &c.,  &c.,  are  as  common  in 
camp  as  blackberries.  The  terms  of  plunder  are  as  follows :  The  valuables 
procured  are  estimated  by  companies.  Each  company  is  required  to  exhibit 
the  result  of  its  operations  at  any  given  place.  One-fifth  and  first  choice 
falls  to  the  commander-in-chief  and  staff,  one-fifth  to  corps  commander  and 
staff,  one-fifth  to  field  officers  and  two-fifths  to  the  company.  Officers  are 
not  allowed  to  join  in  these  expeditions  unless  disguised  as  privates.  One 
of  our  corps  commanders  borrowed  a  rough  suit  of  clothes  from  one  of  my 
men,  and  was  successful  in  his  place.  He  got  a  large  quantity  of  silver 
(among  other  things  an  old  milk  pitcher)  and  a  very  fine  watch  from  a  Mr. 
DeSaussure  of  this  place.  DeSaussure  is  one  of  the  F.  F.  Vs.  of  South 
Carolina,  and  was  made  to  fork  out  liberally.  Officers  over  the  rank  of 
captain  are  not  made  to  put  their  plunder  in  the  estimate  for  general  dis 
tribution.  This  is  very  unfair,  and  for  that  reason,  in  order  to  protect 
themselves,  the  subordinate  officers  and  privates  keep  everything  back  that 
they  can  carry  about  their  persons,  such  as  rings,  earrings,  breastpins, 
&c.,  &c.,  of  which,  if  I  live  to  get  home,  I  have  a  quart.  I  am  not  joking. 
I  have  at  least  a  quart  of  jewelry  for  you  and  the  girls,  and  some  No.  1 
diamond  pins  and  rings  among  them.  General  Sherman  has  gold  and  silver- 
enough  to  start  a  bank.  His  share  in  gold  watches  and  chains  alone  at 
Columbia  was  two  hundred  and  seventy-five. 


454  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

But  I  said  I  could  not  go  into  particulars.  All  the  general  officers,  and 
many  besides,  have  valuables  of  every  description  down  to  ladies'  pocket 
handkerchiefs.  I  have  my  share  of  them,  too.  9 

We  took  gold  and  silver  enough  from  the  d — d  rebels  to  have  redeemed 
their  infernal  currency  twice  over.  I  wish  all  the  jewelry  this  army  has 
could  be  carried  to  the  Old  Bay  State.  It  would  deck  her  out  in  glorious 
style ;  but,  alas !  it  will  be  scattered  all  over  the  North  and  Middle  States. 

The  d — d  niggers,  as  a  general  thing,  preferred  to  stay  at  home,  partic 
ularly  after  they  found  out  that  we  wanted  only  the  able-bodied  men,  and, 
to  tell  the  truth,  the  youngest  and  best  looking  women.  Sometimes  we  took 
them  off  by  way  of  repaying  influential  Secessionists.  But  a  part  of  these 
we  managed  to  lose,  sometimes  in  crossing  rivers,  sometimes  in  other  ways. 
I  shall  write  you  again  from  Wilmington,  Goldsboro,  or  some  other  place  in 
North  Carolina.  The  order  to  march  has  arrived,  and  I  must  close  hur 
riedly.  Love  to  grandmother  and  Aunt  Charlotte.  Take  care  of  yourself 
and  the  children.  Don't  show  this  letter  outside  of  the  family. 

Your  affectionate  husband, 

THOMAS  J.  MYERS, 

Lieutenant,  etc. 

P.  S.  I  will  send  this  by  flag  of  truce  to  be  mailed,  unless  I  have  an 
opportunity  of  sending  it  to  Hilton  Head.  Tell  Lottie  I  am  saving  a  pearl 
bracelet  and  earrings  for  her.  But  Lambert  got  the  necklace  and  breast 
pin  from  the  same  set.  I  am  trying  to  trade  him  out  of  them.  These 
were  taken  from  the  Misses  Jamison,  daughters  of  the  President  of  the 
South  Carolina  Secession  Convention.  We  found  these  on  our  trip  through 
Georgia.  T.  J.  M. 

This  letter  is  addressed  to  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Myers,  Boston,  Mass. 

In  his  memoirs  Sherman  says  that  war  is  hell.  I  am  inclined 
to  the  belief  that  some  of  his  house  burners  (bummers)  who  were 
killed  with  torches  in  their  hands  are  still  in  the  fire  department 
presided  over  by  his  Satanic  Majesty. 

The  Yankee  general  Joe  Hooker  said  of  the  Confederate  soldier 
that  for  steadiness  in  action  and  discipline  he  had  no  equal. 

At  9 :30  p.  m.  on  the  10th  day  of  October,  1862,  General  Hamp 
ton  placed  General  M.  C.  Butler  and  his  cavalry  in  immediate 
command  of  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  until  9  a.  m.  the  following  day, 
and  nothing  was  molested  except  government  property.  The 
women  of  the  city  were  as  free  from  insult  as  they  ever  were.  It 
was  in  this  city  that  General  Lee  issued  the  following: 

Headquarters  A.  N.  V., 
Chambersburg,  Pa.,  June  27,  1863. 
General  Orders  No.  73. 

The  commanding  general  has  marked  with  satisfaction  the  conduct  of 
the  troops  on  the  march  and  confidently  anticipate  results  commensurate 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  455 

with  the  high  spirit  they  have  manifested.  No  troops  could  have  displayed 
greater  fortitude  or  better  performed  the  arduous  marches  of  the  first 
ten  days.  Their  conduct  in  other  respects  has,  with  few  exceptions,  been 
in  keeping  with  their  character  as  soldiers,  and  entitles  them  to  approba 
tion  and  praise. 

There  have,  however,  been  instances  of  forgetfulness  on  the  part  of  some, 
that  they  have  in  keeping  the  yet  unsullied  reputation  of  the  army,  and 
the  duties  exacted  of  us  by  civilization  and  Christianity  are  not  less  obliga 
tory  in  the  country  of  the  enemy  than  in  our  own.  The  commanding  gen 
eral  considers  that  no  greater  disgrace  could  befall  the  army  and  through 
it  to  our  people,  than  the  perpetration  of  the  barbarous  outrages  upon  the 
innocent  and  defenceless  and  the  wanton  destruction  of  private  property, 
that  have  marked  the  course  of  the  enemy  in  our  own  country.  Such 
proceedings  not  only  disgrace  the  perpetrators  and  all  connected  with  them, 
but  are  subversive  of  the  discipline  and  efficiency  of  the  army  and  destruc 
tive  of  the  ends  of  our  present  movements.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
we  make  war  only  on  armed  men,  and  that  we,  without  lowering  ourselves 
in  the  eyes  of  all  whose  abhorrence  has  been  excited  by  the  atrocities  of 
our  enemy,  and  offending  against  Him  to  whom  vengeance  belongeth,  with 
out  whose  favor  and  support  our  efforts  must  all  prove  in  vain,  the  com 
manding  general,  therefore,  earnestly  exhorts  the  troops  to  abstain  with 
most  scrupulous  care  from  unnecessary  or  wanton  injury  to  private  prop 
erty;  and  he  enjoins  upon  all  officers  to  arrest  and  bring  to  summary  pun 
ishment  all  who  shall  in  any  way  offend  against  the  order  on  this  subject. 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

The  future  historian  will  prove  that  the  Confederate  soldier 
was  ever  true  to  his  convictions  and  fought  as  no  other  soldier 
did,  and  he  will  be  held  up  as  the  typical  American  soldier,  hon 
ored  and  respected  by  all  the  people  from  the  rockbound  coast  of 
Maine  to  the  golden  gates  of  California,  and  from  the  great  lakes 
to  where  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  kiss  the  shores  of  the  Carolinas 
and  Georgia. 

"General  Lee  fled  from  Fame;  but  Fame 

Sought  him  in  his  retreat; 
Demanding  for  the  world  one  name 
Made  deathless  by  defeat." 


456  BCTI.ER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


BURNING  OF  THE  CONVENT 

^ 

When  the  Pagan  Saxons  laid  England  waste  from  sea  to  sea 
many  of  the  inhabitants  fled  into  Gaul  and  settled  in  Armorica. 
Others  took  shelter  in  the  Netherlands  and  had  a  settlement  near 
the  Rhine  at  a  castle  called  Brittenburgh,  as  appears  from  ancient 
monuments  and  Belgic  historians  produced  by  Usher.  St.  Ursula 
and  other  holy  martyrs  seem  to  have  left  Britain  about  that 
time,  and  to  have  met  a  glorious  death  in  defence  of  their  vir 
ginity  from  the  army  of  the  Huns,  which  in  the  fifth  age  plun 
dered  that  country  and  carried  fire  and  the  sword  wherever  they 
came.  It  is  agreed  that  they  came  originally  from  Britain,  and 
Ursula  was  the  conductor  and  encourager  of  this  holy  troop. 

Sigebert's  Chronicle  places  their  martyrdom  in  453  (see  But 
ler's  "Lives  of  the  Saints,"  page  493,  October  number).  St. 
Ursula,  who  was  the  mistress  and  guide  to  heaven  to  so  many 
holy  maidens,  who  she  animated  to  the  heroic  practice  of  virtue, 
conducted  to  the  glorious  crown  of  martyrdom,  and  presented 
spotless  to  Christ,  is  regarded  as  a  model  and  patroness  by  those 
who  undertake  to  train  up  youth  in  the  sentiments  of  piety  and 
religion.  A  great  many  religious  establishments  have  been 
erected  under  her  name  and  patronage  for  the  virtuous  educa 
tion  of  young  ladies  throughout  the  world — they  are  found  among 
the  uncivilized  as  well  as  the  civilized  performing  their  heroic 
work. 

The  first  Ursuline  convent  in  the  United  States  of  America 
was  established  in  the  State  of  Louisiana,  in  the  city  of  New 
Orleans,  in  the  year  1727,  and  in  the  year  1858,  upon  the  invita 
tion  of  the  late  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Lynch,  who  was  one  of  the 
brightest  lights  of  the  church,  this  community  of  the  Order  of 
the  Ursulines  came  to  Columbia  from  Brown  County,  Ohio,  and 
has  accomplished  much  good.  The  Mother  Superior  at  that  time 
was  Madame  Baptiste  Lynch,  who  was  possessed  with  wonderful 
tact,  energy  and  intellect.  These  good  ladies  had  their  convent 
at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Blanding  streets  and  con 
tinued  their  good  work  until  Sherman's  army  put  the  torch  to 
their  beautiful  convent  on  the  night  of  the  17th  February,  1865 ; 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  457 

when  these  poor  nuns  had  to  take  the  young  ladies  under  their 
charge  and  sit  on  the  tombstones  in  the  Catholic  churchyard 
during  that  memorable  night  with  no  covering,  save  their 
wearing  apparel,  other  than  the  canopy  of  heaven.  The  next 
day,  however,  General  Sherman  relented  and  was  equally  as 
liberal  with  property  that  did  not  belong  to  him  as  he  was  with 
the  torch  the  night  before,  presenting  these  good  nuns  with  the 
Preston  mansion,  now  the  South  Carolina  College  for  Women 
under  the  management  of  some  gentlemen  of  the  Presbyterian 
persuasion,  and  the  Methodist  College,  where  the  Colonia  Hotel 
now  stands.  These  Mother  Baptiste  Lynch  gladly  accepted  with 
the  view  of  saving  them  from  Sherman's  torches  for  their  lawful 
owners.  She  was  also  the  means  of  saving  Valle  Crucis,  at  one 
time  the  home  of  Governor  Pierce  Butler. 

General  Sherman  had  his  headquarters  on  Gervais  street 
between  Pickens  and  Henderson,  at  the  residence  now  owned  by 
the  merchant  prince  Mr.  J.  L.  Mimnaugh,  while  General  John  A. 
Logan  occupied  the  Preston  mansion,  who  was  in  ante-bellum 
days  charged  by  the  Hon.  William  C.  Preston,  while  in  Washing 
ton,  with  being  an  "Indian  half-breed."  The  impression  was  then, 
and  is  at  this  late  date,  believed  true. 

During  the  mess  dinner  hour  at  the  "old  mansion,"  General 
Logan  turned  to  the  venerable  and  ante-bellum  butler  of  the 
Hampton  and  Preston  families  and  remarked:  "Henry,  what 
would  William  C.  Preston  say  could  he  know  that  the  feet  of  the 
'half -breed  Indian  Logan'  rested  under  his  mahogany?"  Old 
Henry  dare  not  answer,  devoted  as  he  was  to  that  house,  the 
family,  and  the  traditions  dating  back  to  the  days  when  his 
master,  Major-General  Wade  Hampton,  of  the  old  army  once 
entertained  gentlemen  comrades  at  that  same  board.  Old  Henry 
had  been  "faithful  among  the  faithless,"  and  though  a  rope  had 
been  placed  around  his  neck  more  than  once  to  make  him  reveal 
hidden  treasures,  yet,  with  force  applied,  no  information  could 
be  obtained,  and  this  old  negro  remained  steadfast  to  the  end  of 
the  ordeal. 

Testimony  before  the  mixed  commission  on  British  and  Amer 
ican  claims  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  1872,  volume  entitled  "Who 
Burnt  Columbia?"  published  by  Walker,  Evans  &  Cogswell, 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  February  17th,  1865,  page  97 : 


458  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Wm.  T.  Sherman  testifies : 

"Q.  Do  you  not  believe — I  do  not  want  what  people  told  you — 
but  do  you  not  believe  that  individuals  assisted  in  spreading  that 
conflagration?  Soldiers  may  have  been  concerned  in  spread 
ing  it  ? 

"Answer.  Sherman  on  oath.  Yes,  sir,  after  it  had  been  started. 
There  was  a  little  circumstance  which  occurred  at  the  beginning, 
while  I  was  still  at  the  pontoon  bridge,  that  I  will  mention  right 
here:  I  received  a  note  from  a  sister  of  charity  who  kept  the 
asylum  or  school  in  Columbia,  alleging  the  fact  that  she  was  a 
teacher  in  a  school  in  Brown  County,  Ohio,  where  my  daughter, 
Minnie,  was  a  pupil,  and  by  reason  of  that  fact  she  claimed  pro 
tection  to  her  school  and  property.  I  think  I  sent  one  of  my 
staff  officers,  Colonel  Ewing,  to  assure  her  that  there  was  no 
purpose  to  disturb  her  or  the  property  of  anybody  in  Columbia. 
I  have  since  heard  that  she  claimed  that  I  passed  my  word  guar 
anteeing  to  her  protection,  on  which  she  had  based  a  claim  for 
indemnification,  etc.  Now,  of  course,  I  did  not  want  that  school 
burnt  with  a  parcel  of  little  children.  I  went  myself  to  see  her 
afterwards;  that  is  what  I  am  getting  at.  The  next  day  after 
the  conflagration  I  went  and  found  them  all  clustered  in  an 
adjoining  house,  and  gave  orders  that  they  should  have  possession 
of  some  Methodist  establishment,  which  happened  to  be  vacant, 
and  which  would  serve  as  a  shelter  until  they  could  procure 
another  place.  Their  schoolhouse  was  burnt  down  in  the  great 
conflagration  of  the  night  before." 

It  is  true  that  General  Sherman's  daughter,  Miss  Minnie,  did  go 
to  the  convent  in  Brown  County,  Ohio ;  it  is  true  that  the  Mother 
Superior  did  write  the  note  asking  for  protection  (whom  he  calls 
the  sister  of  charity  in  his  testimony),  and  it  is  true  that  the 
Mother  Superior  did  not  get  the  promised  protection. 

In  the  report  of  Chancellor  James  Parsons  Carroll,  in  relation 
to  the  destruction  of  Columbia,  the  17th  of  February,  1865,  we 
find  the  following  on  page  7:  "The  Confederate  forces  were 
withdrawn  and  the  town  restored  to  the  control  of  the  municipal 
authorities  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  of  February.  Accom 
panied  by  three  of  the  aldermen,  the  mayor,  between  eight  and 
nine  o'clock  a.  m.,  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  Broad  river,  for 
the  purpose  of  surrendering  the  city  to  General  Sherman.  Acting 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  450 

in  concert  with  the  mayor,  the  officer  in  command  of  the  rear 
guard  (one  squadron)  of  the  Confederate  cavalry,  General  M.  C. 
Butler,  forebore  from  further  resistance  to  the  advance  of  the 
opposing  army,  and  to  effectual  precautions  against  anything 
being  done  which  might  provoke  General  Sherman  or  his  troops 
to  acts  of  violence  or  severity  towards  the  town  or  its  citizens. 
On  the  night  of  the  16th  of  February,  1865,  Generals  Hampton 
and  Butler  had  their  headquarters  at  the  Preston  mansion,  and 
the  next  night  at  Killian's  Mill,  and  well  do  I  remember,  with 
my  saddle  for  a  pillow,  how  sweetly  I  slept  on  the  cold,  wet 
ground,  while  others  watched  the  flames  eleven  miles  away  which 
razed  our  beautiful  city  to  the  ground. 

General  Hampton  brought  from  Virginia  in  January,  1865, 
two  brigades  of  the  First  Division  Cavalry,  A.  N.  V.  (Dunovant's 
and  Young's),  commanded  by  General  M.  C.  Butler  (who  in  many 
battles  would  present  his  breast  to  the  sword  of  the  enemy  and  by 
his  example  force  his  soldiers  to  repulse  the  insulting  and  pur 
suing  hirelings  of  an  invading  arnry),  leaving  General  Rosser's 
brigade  in  the  valley  with  General  Fitzhugh  Lee,  while  the  "old 
bald  eagle,"  the  man  who  never  surrendered,  General  Mart  Gary, 
guarded  the  left  of  the  army  around  Richmond  and  General 
Bearing  guarded  the  right  wing  below  Petersburg. 

I  recollect  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  February,  when  the  rear 
guard  was  preparing  to  leave  Columbia,  we  were  mounted  and 
ready  for  orders  on  Blanding  street,  in  front  of  the  Preston 
mansion,  with  the  head  of  the  column  facing  west,  when  to  our 
dismay  we  witnessed  the  sad  sight  of  Logan's  Fifteenth  Army 
Corps  marching  down  Main  street.  Words  fail  me  to  express  how 
these  battle-scarred  veterans  looked.  They  were  ready  to  spill 
every  drop  of  their  life's  blood  in  defense  of  the  helpless  women 
and  children.  Some  said  it  was  time  to  fight,  let  us  charge ;  while 
others  said  how  glorious  to  die  defending  our  beautiful  city.  Gen 
eral  Hampton  saw  that  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor,  and 
ordered  General  Butler  with  the  rear  guard  up  the  Winnsboro 
road  towards  Killian's  Mill.  Butler  only  had  in  his  gallant  little 
Spartan  band  about  800  men.  The  rest  of  these  two  old  brigades 
— save  a  few  dismounted  men  commanded  by  General  P.  M.  B. 
Young  on  the  coast — had  been  left  on  the  plains  of  Virginia, 
where  their  bones  now  lie  bleaching.  General  M.  C.  Butler  never 


460  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

planned  and  fought  a  battle  during  the  late  unpleasantness  but 
what  he  covered  himself  and  his  brave  veterans  with  glory.  He 
taught  his  men  to  conquer  and  was  a  terror  ta  his  enemies;  and 
in  all  battles  he  was  everywhere  present,  striking  fear  and  terror 
into  their  breasts  and  paleness  over  their  countenances,  and 
inspiring  his  own  men  with  courage.  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart, 
who  was  mortally  wounded  at  the  Yellow  Tavern,  near  Richmond, 
and  died  12th  May,  1864,  once  said  that  the  chivalrous  Butler, 
the  dashing  Rosser  and  the  gallant  Young  would  make  any  man  a 
military  reputation. 

On  page  13  of  Chancellor  Carroll's  report  we  find  it  stated: 
"It  is  said  by  numbers  of  the  soldiers,  that  the  order  had  been 
given  to  burn  down  the  city.  There  is  strong  evidence  that  such 
an  order  actually  issued  in  relation  to  the  house  of  General  John  S. 
Preston.  The  Ursuline  convent  was  destroyed  by  the  Sherman 
fire,  and  the  proof  referred  to  comes  from  a  reverend  and  honored 
member  of  that  holy  sisterhood,  the  Mother  Superior,  and  it  is 
subjoined  in  her  own  words:  'Our  convent  was  consumed  in  the 
general  conflagration  of  Columbia.  Ourselves  and  pupils  were 
forced  to  fly,  leaving  provisions,  clothing  and  almost  everything. 
We  spent  the  night  in  the  open  air  in  the  churchyard.  On  the 
following  morning  General  Sherman  made  us  a  visit,  expressed 
his  regret  at  the  burning  of  our  convent,  disclaimed  the  act, 
attributing  it  to  the  intoxication  of  his  soldiers,  and  told  me  to 
choose  any  house  in  town  for  a  convent,  and  it  should  be  ours. 
He  deputed  his  adjutant-general,  Colonel  Ewing,  to  act  in  his 
stead.  Colonel  Ewing  reminded  us  of  General  Sherman's  offer 
to  give  us  any  house  in  Columbia  we  might  choose  for  a  convent. 
We  have  thought  of  it,  said  we,  and  of  asking  for  General  Pres 
ton's  house,  which  is  large.  "That  is  where  General  Logan  holds 
his  headquarters,"  said  he,  "and  orders  have  already  been  given, 
I  know,  to  burn  it  tomorrow ;  but  if  you  say  you  will  take  it  for  a 
convent  I  will  speak  to  the  general,  and  the  order  will  be  counter 
manded."  On  the  following  morning,  after  many  inquiries,  we 
learned  from  the  officer  in  charge  (General  Perry,  I  think,)  that 
his  orders  were  to  fire  it  unless  the  sisters  were  in  actual  possession 
of  it,  but  even  if  a  detachment  of  the  sisters  were  in  it  it  should 
be  spared  on  their  account.  Accordingly,  we  took  possession  of 
it,  although  fires  were  already  kindled  near  and  the  servants  were 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  461 

carrying  off  the  bedding  and  furniture  in  view  of  the  house  being 
consigned  to  the  flames.'  r 

Of  course  the  nuns,  as  soon  as  hostilities  ceased,  turned  the 
property  over  to  General  Preston,  and  in  August,  1865,  purchased 
from  Colonel  Ellison  Keitt  his  beautiful  home  situated  about 
three  miles  east  of  Columbia,  whose  angelic  and  accomplished 
wife  called  the  place  Valle  Crucis — Vale  of  the  Cross.  Little  did 
she  think  that  a  convent  soon  after  her  demise  would  be  estab 
lished  on  the  spot  she  had  so  appropriately  named.  Her  beautiful 
and  cultured  daughter  received  her  education  at  the  Ursuline 
Convent  at  Valle  Crucis,  and  is  now  married  to  that  gallant  and 
chivalric  gentleman,  Colonel  L.  P.  Miller.  Young  ladies  from 
nearly  all  the  Southern  and  some  of  the  Northern  States  have 
received  their  education  at  Valle  Crucis  and  Columbia  by  the 
untiring  efforts  of  these  saintly  nuns.  While  the  convent  was  at 
Valle  Crucis  on  the  14th  day  of  October,  1872,  by  permission  of 
Bishop  Lynch  and  the  Mother  Superior,  and  at  the  instance  of 
that  good,  noble  and  saintly  priest,  Rev.  James  Fullerton — like 
Nathan  of  old,  with  no  guile  in  his  heart — two  of  these  nuns, 
Madame  Ursula  and  Madam  Thomasine,  moved  into  Columbia 
and  established  the  parochial  school  at  St.  Peter's  church. 
Almighty  God  alone  knows  the  good  this  school  has  done.  We 
poor  mortals  can  only  imagine  how  many  have  been  saved  from 
perdition  by  attending  the  school  which  was  the  pride  of  the  good 
priest's  heart.  After  the  death  of  the  lamented  Bishop  Lynch, 
which  occurred  on  the  26th  February,  1882,  the  gifted  Bishop 
Northrop,  his  successor,  induced  the  nuns  to  move  into  Columbia. 
They  purchased  the  above-mentioned  Preston  Mansion,  and  on 
the  18th  day  of  July,  1887,  established  the  convent  once  more 
there,  where  they  continued  their  noble  work  until  19th  February, 
1890.  Madame  Baptiste  Lynch  died  28th  July,  1887— the  ven 
erable  superior  who  brought  the  community  from  Ohio  in  1858 — 
leaving  as  her  successor  Madame  Charles  Weed,  who  only  sur 
vived  her  a  short  time,  for  she  was  called  to  her  reward  on  the 
16th  of  March,  1888.  and  was  succeeded  by  Madame  Thomasine, 
the  present  able,  accomplished  and  gifted  Mother  Superior. 

On  the  26th  day  of  July,  1889,  the  cornerstone  of  the  new  and 
beautiful  convent  was  laid  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Plain  and 
Assembly  streets,  and  on  the  19th  of  February  the  nuns  left  the 


462  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Preston  mansion,  not  for  Valle  Crucis,  but  to  take  up  their  abode 
in  their  large  and  commodious  and  handsome  convent  which  con 
tains  about  fifty  rooms  and  thirteen  large  halls.  fif ty  boarders  and 
three  hundred  day  scholars  can  easily  be  accommodated.  This 
fine  brick  building  is  furnished  with  hot  and  cold  water,  baths, 
lights  and  best  sanitary  arrangements ;  thoroughly  heated  by  hot- 
air  furnaces  and  well  ventilated.  The  grounds  are  ample  for  out 
door  exercise,  which  is  regularly  required.  In  point  of  health 
and  beauty  Columbia  does  not  yield  to  any  Southern  city.  Owing 
to  the  mild  climate  and  dryness  of  the  atmosphere,  it  is  beginning 
to  attract  much  attention  as  a  winter  resort  for  invalids.  The 
mean  temperature  is  50  degrees  Fahr.  The  city  is  connected  by 
direct  lines  of  railway  with  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  The 
institution  is  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina  and 
empowered  to  confer  degrees  and  diplomas. 

In  admission  of  pupils  into  the  institution  no  distinction  of 
religion  is  made,  nor  is  any  undue  influence  used  over  their 
religious  principles,  but  for  the  maintaining  of  order  all  are 
required  to  attend  the  exercise  of  divine  worship  prescribed  for 
the  institute. 

All  applicants  must  be  properly  introduced.  Application  made 
by  societies  or  individuals  disposed  to  aid  the  education  of  young 
ladies,  for  admission  of  pupils  at  reduced  rates  will  receive  the 
most  favorable  consideration  that  the  circumstances  of  the  con 
vent  will  admit.  For  further  information  application  may  be 
made  to  the  Rt.  Reverend  Bishop,  to  the  Reverend  Clergy,  or  to 
the  Mother  Superior.  Some  of  the  young  ladies  enter  the  convent 
school  very  young,  scarcely  in  their  teens,  and  during  their  days 
of  study  and  meditation,  tnat  after  graduating  so  much  charmed 
are  they  with  their  saintly  training  received  at  the  hands  of  these 
pious  nuns  they  immediately  take  the  white  veil  and  wear  it  two 
and  a  half  years,  when  they  rejoice  to  take  the  black  veil  and  are 
consecrated  to  Almighty  God,  and  for  whose  honor  and  glory  they 
devote  the  rest  of  their  lives  introducing  children,  particularly 
girls,  to  Him  who  created  all  things  visible  and  invisible.  To  see 
these  saintly  women  and  converse  with  them  you  are  forcibly 
reminded  that  white-winged  angels  of  peace  are  continually  hov 
ering  around  them  and  those  under  their  charge.  "All  that 
pleases  is  but  for  a  moment,  and  that  which  troubles  is  but  for  a 
moment,  and  that  only  which  is  important  is  eternal." 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  463 


HUGH  SCOTT,  SCOUT  FOR  HAMPTON  AND  BUT 
LER,  TROOP  "I,"  SECOND  S.  C.  CAVALRY 

When  Sherman  was  in  camp  in  front  of  Goldsboro,  N.  C.,  in 
1865,  after  his  splendid  (?)  march  to  the  sea,  "we  scouts,"  James 
Butler  (brother  of  General  M.  C.  Butler),  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Ashley  (I  regret  the  absence  of  his  initials,  for  he  was  a  very 
gallant  man,  but  he  was  an  enlisted  man  of  the  splendid  "Philip's 
Legion,")  Dan  Tanner,  N.  B.  Eison,  and  three  others,  who,  in 
the  lapse  of  years  have  escaped  my  memory,  brave,  gallant  men, 
all  of  them. 

At  Snow  Hill,  a  little  town  on  the  banks  of  the  Reuse  River, 
in  North  Carolina,  it  was  reported  that  the  Yankees  were  in  camp 
— nineteen  horses — awaiting  our  coming,  and  a  few  moments  later 
the  nineteen  horses  belonged  to  us  and  the  Confederacy.  I 
returned  in  order  to  secure  the  Yankee  headquarters  flag  which  I 
had  seen  floating  in  the  breeze,  but  the  sentinel  on  post  became 
alarmed,  and  the  force  being  too  strong  I  was  unable  to  effect 
the  capture.  We  swam  the  Neuse  River  with  our  horses,  crossing 
safely  with  our  plunder.  The  next  day  we  went  down  to  Snow 
Hill,  and  found  that  the  Yanks  had  left.  We  crossed  the  bridge, 
tearing  up  the  planks  behind  us,  thus  cutting  off  communication. 
We  then  moved  in  the  direction  of  Goldsboro,  with  the  intention 
of  destroying  the  railroad  between  that  point  and  Newbern, 
derailing  the  train,  robbing  it,  and  leaving.  En  route  we  cap 
tured  a  Yankee  officer  riding  out  with  a  young  lady.  We  held 
the  festive  colonel  prisoner,  but  allowed  the  misguided  young  lady 
to  go  "Scot  free."  That  scouting  expedition  secured  to  us  seventy- 
five  splendid  horses,  with  saddles,  accoutrements  and  equipments, 
amply  repaying  us  for  the  risk  and  danger  attending  our  every 
step. 

We  rode  day  and  night  in  our  endeavor  to  reach  Raleigh  in 
advance  of  the  Yankees,  and  our  speed  increased  when  it  became 
known  that  Captain  Jim  Butler  knew  the  hiding  place  of  a 
splendid  barrel  of  whiskey,  "Old  Mountain  Dew,"  for,  you  know, 
a  Confederate  soldier  would  ride  through  hail  and  a  tempest  for 

so — B.  c. 


464  BUTLER  AXD  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

a  bottle  of  whiskey,  and  for  a  barrel  they  would  ride  through . 

In  the  course  of  time  a  citizen  pointed  out  a  short  cut  to  Raleigh, 
and  I  was  detailed  to  reconnoiter.  I  moved  cautiously  in  the 
direction  of  a  house  located  about  two  miles  from  where  a  few 
moments  before  I  had  left  the  boys  and  horses.  Reaching  a 
house,  I  found  four  Yankee  steeds  hitched  to  the  fence.  This 
was  about  10  o'clock  at  night.  I  entered  the  house  and  found 
four  Yanks  eating  supper,  the  owner  of  the  place  waiting  on 
table.  As  I  entered  I  remarked:  "Well,  I'm  just  in  time,"  at 
the  same  time  seating  myself  at  table  and  helping  myself  to  a 
real,  big,  strong  drink  of  fine  old  North  Carolina  corn  from  a 
generous  decanter  set  before  them.  One  of  the  Yanks  asked, 
"To  what  command  do  you  belong?"  I  answered,  "Kilpatrick's, 
am  one  of  his  scouts,  and  wanted  to  find  out  something  about  the 
roads  in  that  region."  Between  "the  good  old  corn"  and  an 
animated  conversation,  I  gathered  the  information  desired,  and 
deemed  it  wise  to  withdraw  and  not  to  stop  upon  the  order  of 
my  going.  I  told  them  that  I  was  compelled  to  leave  them,  but 
would  shortly  return  and  spend  the  night.  As  there  were  only 
two  beds  in  the  room,  the  owner  spread  a  pallet  on  the  floor  for 
me.  Before  taking  leave,  I  made  the  host  fill  my  old  canteen 
full  of  the  good  old  stuff  and  bid  them  "adieu" 

I  did  return  shortly  as  I  had  promised  to  do,  but  with  me  came 
four  of  my  gallant  comrades.  We  walked  in,  lit  a  candle,  covered 
them  with  our  pistols  and  demanded  their  surrender.  As  in  love, 
so  in  war,  men  resort  to  many  tricks.  They  were  rudely  aroused 
from  a  seemingly  refreshing  sleep,  dreaming,  perchance,  of  home 
and  fireside. 

Upon  being  aroused,  one  of  them,  eyeing  me  keenly,  remarked: 
"You  are  the  man  that  took  supper  with  us!"  I  modestly 
answered,  "Yes,"  and  that  was  the  end  of  it. 

We  secured  horses,  and  a  nice  set  of  prisoners,  but  lost  the 
treasured  barrel  of  whiskey,  for  Sherman  got  there  first.  Gen 
erals  Hampton  and  Butler,  however,  were  delighted  at  the  result 
of  our  trip,  for  in  those  dark  days  seventy-five  horses  was  no  mean 
gift  to  cavalrymen. 

Thus  ended  that  trip. 

HUGH  H.  SCOTT. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  465 


THE   CURTAIN    FALLS— BUTLER   SURRENDERS 
HIS  CAVALRY 

At  the  Chester  reunion,  1899,  General  M.  C.  Butler  was  the 
annual  orator.  Instead  of  indulging  in  a  speech  filled  with 
customary  platitudes  he  recited  a  narrative  of  the  retreat  of  Joe 
Johnston  from  Columbia  in  the  face  of  Sherman's  overwhelming 
army.  General  Butler  is  known  to  have  been  a  sagacious,  as  well 
as  a  dashing  cavalry  leader,  and  his  observation  of  that  famous 
march  are  well  worth  reading  and  remembering.  General  Butler 
said: 

Comrades,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  Your  committee  has  done 
me  the  honor  to  request  me  to  deliver  an  address  before  you  today. 
I  will,  with  your  permission,  appropriate  the  time  set  apart  for 
the  purpose  of  a  simple  narrative  of  the  operations  of  the  troops 
under  my  command  from  the  evacuation  of  Columbia  to  John 
ston's  surrender.  It  has  seemed  to  me  we  have  not  devoted  enough 
of  the  time  of  our  annual  reunions  to  historical  purposes.  Pos 
sibly  such  subjects  might  not  be  so  entertaining  for  the  time  being, 
but  I  am  quite  sure  they  would  be  useful  to  those  who  come  after 
us.  Besides,  we  have  with  us,  I  am  pleased  to  say,  our  younger 
brethren,  the  Sons  of  Veterans,  many  of  them  endowed  with  the 
gift  of  eloquence  and  oratory,  who  will  gratify  and  entertain  us 
with  their  worthy  enthusiasm  in  the  cause  of  their  fathers.  The 
period  of  which  I  shall  speak  will  embrace  the  last  days  of  that 
constitutional  republic,  the  Southern  Confederacy,  that  came  into 
being  by  the  spontaneous  action  of  its  citizens,  and  flashed  its  brief 
existence  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  with  a  brilliancy  and 
grandeur  of  achievement  in  military  and  civic  accomplishment 
never  before  equalled  in  the  annals  of  all  history.  It  was  a  sad 
day  when  this  great  light  of  constitutional  government  was  put 
out,  by  superior  force  and  overwhelming  numbers.  Its  record 
will  survive  through  the  ages  among  the  grandest  and  greatest 
efforts  of  mankind  to  establish  and  perpetuate  a  form  of  govern 
ment  best  suited  to  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  its  inhabitants. 


466  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Its  civic  history  is  no  less  brilliant  than  its  military,  and  the  two 
combined  make  a  record  unsurpassed  in  human  effort. 

The  burning  of  Columbia  by  Sherman  was  among  the  last  acts 
of  the  great  tragedy  of  1861-65.  This  act  was  wholly  unneces 
sary,  and  a  clear,  flagrant  violation  of  all  rules  of  civilized  war 
fare.  But  the  city  had  been  marked  as  the  capital  of  the  "Cradle 
of  Secession,"  and  fell  a  victim  to  the  venom  and  hatred  of  her 
enemies. 

Charleston,  the  splendid  old  city  by  the  sea,  was  really  the 
"Cradle  of  "Secession,"  but  for  days  and  weeks  and  months  and 
years  she  had  resisted  and  repelled  combined  assaults  by  land  and 
water  with  a  tenacity  and  skill  and  pluck  that  challenged  the 
admiration  of  the  world  and  made  a  new  epoch  in  the  science  of 
military  defense.  Be  it  said  to  her  glory,  she  never  surrendered. 

Columbia,  fair  and  beautiful  Columbia,  suffered  vicariously  for 
the  bull  dog  obstinacy  of  Moultrie,  Sumter  and  Wagener,  but, 
thanks  to  the  energy,  patience  and  confidence  of  her  inhabitants, 
she  has  literally  risen  from  her  ashes  and  again  put  on  the  garb 
of  a  new  life,  and  is  today  a  monument  to  the  baffled  vengeance  of 
her  enemies  and  the  undismayed  pluck  of  her  people. 

The  city  was  evacuated  by  the  last  of  the  Confederate  forces  on 
the  morning  of  17th  February,  1865.  It  was  my  fortune  to 
command  a  division  of  cavalry,  composed  of  Butler's  and  Young's 
brigades,  which  constituted  the  rear  guard  of  Beauregard's 
retiring  army,  and  it  was  my  duty  to  superintend  the  withdrawal 
of  our  troops  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  give  excuse  to  Sherman's 
incoming  forces  for  a  violation  of  the  agreement  made  by  the 
mayor,  that  venerable  and  honorable  gentleman,  Dr.  Goodwyn, 
and  General  Sherman  that  if  the  Confederates  should  withdraw 
without  resistance  the  city  should  have  immunity  from  assault 
and  violence.  The  compact  was  strictly  carried  out  on  our  part. 
Let  the  charred  remnants  of  this  beautiful,  disarmed  and  helpless 
city  speak  for  the  good  faith  and  honorable  conduct  of  the  other 
side. 

General  Hampton  retired  with  Young's  brigade,  then  com 
manded  by  Colonel  J.  G.  Wright,  early  that  morning  by  the 
Winnsboro  road,  and  later  I  moved  out  with  the  other  brigade, 
commanded  by  Colonel  B.  H.  Rutledge,  by  the  Camden  road. 
Reaching  Taylor's  lane,  east  of  the  old  Charlotte  depot,  I  halted 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  467 

for  an  hour  or  more  to  witness  the  movement  of  a  column  of  Sher 
man's  army  down  the  main  street  to  the  State  House.  The  city 
was  free  from  incendiarism  at  that  time,  but  that  night  the  inhab 
itants  of  the  doomed  city  were  engulfed  in  walls  of  tiaming  fire, 
the  demon  of  hate  having  been  let  loose  on  its  helpless  victims. 

It  is  not  in  the  best  taste  that  the  pronoun  "I"  should  be  fre 
quently  used  in  a  narrative  like  this,  but  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  be  impersonal  in  giving  details  so  essential  to  a  clear  under 
standing  of  the  operations.  Be  good  enough,  therefore,  my  com 
rades,  to  bear  in  mind  that  in  alluding  to  myself  I  embrace  the 
officers  and  men  of  that  gallant  division  of  Confederate  horsemen 
who  had  illustrated  their  splendid  valor  and  dashing  courage  so 
long  and  so  faithfully.  It  was  simply  my  good  fortune  to  be 
associated  with  them  and  participate  in  the  glory  of  their  achieve 
ments. 

Resuming  the  march  about  nine  or  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon, 
we  moved  out  to  Dent's  mill,  on  the  Camden  road,  thence  through 
the  pine  woods  to  Killian's  mill,  where  we  joined  the  other  brigade 
and  bivouacked  for  the  night. 

Exhausted  by  anxiety  and  loss  of  sleep  of  the  two  days  and 
nights  before,  we  slept  so  soundly  that  we  were  not  aware  until 
next  morning,  at  least  I  was  not,  that  Columbia  had  been 
destroyed  by  fire,  although  only  eleven  miles  away. 

During  the  next  day,  the  18th  of  February,  Blair's  corps,  the 
Seventeenth,  was  pushed  out  along  the  Charlotte  and  Columbia 
railroad  and  appeared  across  Killian's  mill  pond  and  creek,  and 
we  had  a  sharp  encounter  with  him  there.  I  had  the  dam  of  the 
pond  cut  so  as  to  flood  the  low  ground  and  check  Blair's  advance. 
We  deployed  along  the  ridge  in  front  of  the  railroad  station  and 
kept  up  the  fight  until  dark,  losing  two  men  killed  and  several 
wounded.  The  loss  inflicted  on  the  enemy  I  had  no  means  of 
ascertaining,  except  some  prisoners  captured  by  my  scouts.  Next 
morning  we  marched  towards  Winnsboro  via  Doko  (now  Blythe- 
wood)  and  Ridgeway. 

I  suppose  General  Beuregard,  and,  as  for  that  matter,  all  of  us, 
assumed  that  Sherman's  next  objective  point  was  Charlotte,  N.  C. 
Consequently,  after  a  halt  of  a  day  at  Winnsboro,  where  it  became 
my  painful  duty  to  have  destroyed  eighty  dozen  of  Governor 
Aiken's  fine  old  wine  (sent  up  from  Charleston  for  safety),  to 


468  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  18G1-18G5. 

prevent  its  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  tickling 
their  thirsty  palates.  I  was  ordered  out  to  Gladden's  grove  for 
convenience  in  getting  forage,  watching  Shegnan's  right  flank, 
while  the  remnant  of  Hood's  army,  under  General  S.  D.  Lee, 
with  Wheeler's  division  of  cavalry  continued  up  the  railroad. 
General  Hampton  directed  me  to  rid  myself  of  wheels,  move 
around  Sherman's  right  and  join  him  at.  Land's  ford  on  the 
Catawba  river. 

I  accordingly  ordered  my  wagons  and  artillery  towards  Char 
lotte,  and  with  the  mounted  column  started  from  Gladden's  grove 
in  the  early  morning  of  my  second  day  there,  by  the  nearest  road 
leading  towards  Columbia,  intending  to  pass  between  Sherman's 
army  and  that  city.  We  had  not  advanced  far  before  running 
into  the  Fifteenth  corps.  This  corps  and  the  Seventeenth  com 
posed  Sherman's  right  wing  and  the  Fourteenth  and  Twentieth 
his  left.  After  a  sharp  fight  with  the  Fifteenth  corps,  continued 
long  enough  to  develop  the  strength  of  the  enemy  in  my  front, 
and  finding  I  could  not  overcome  so  strong  a  force  on  that  road, 
I  moved  to  my  left  so  as  to  get  into  the  river  road,  the  only  one 
left  open  between  my  column  and  the  Wateree  river.  This,  too, 
the  enemy  had  occupied  in  force.  Late  that  afternoon  an  inci 
dent  occurred  which  satisfied  me  that  Sherman  had  changed 
direction  to  the  right  and  was  not  moving  on  Charlotte.  A  pris 
oner  was  brought  to  me  who  said  he  was  an  artificer  of  the  reserve 
ordnance  train  of  the  Twentieth  corps,  and  that  his  train  had 
been  ordered  to  camp  that  night  at  Rocky  Mount,  on  the  Wateree 
river.  This  would  throw  the  Twentieth  corps  entirely  out  of  the 
direction  of  Charlotte,  and  convinced  me  for  the  first  time  that 
Sherman  would  move  across  the  State  toward  Cheraw,  at  right 
angles  with  the  course  he  had  been  marching,  and  I  sent  a  dis 
patch  at  once  to  Generals  Beauregard  and  Hampton  notifying 
them  of  his  change  of  route.  This  necessitated  a  change  in  my 
contemplated  movement,  as  I  could  not  get  around  between  Sher 
man  and  the  river.  I,  therefore,  moved  up  through  Beckamville, 
intending  to  pass  the  river  at  some  convenient  crossing  higher  up. 
Dr.  Cloud,  a  venerable  old  gentleman  of  eighty-two  years  of  age, 
resided  at  Beckamville  and  the  only  two  members  of  his  family 
with  him  were  two  young  ladies,  his  granddaughters.  He 
requested  me  to  have  our  animals  all  fed  from  his  well-stored 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  469 

barns  of  forage,  and  notified  me  where  he  had  concealed  his 
valuables.  I  afterwards  learned  he  had  been  strung  up  by  the 
neck  twice  by  Sherman's  soldiers  to  coerce  him  into  disclosing  the 
whereabouts  of  his  silver  and  valuables.  In  this  they  failed,  as 
I  also  learned,  but  his  negroes  betrayed  the  places  of  concealment, 
and  the  silver  and  jewelry  fell  into  the  hands  of  Sherman's  officers 
and  men. 

We  moved  from  Beckamville  to  Fishing  Creek,  and  biv 
ouacked  for  the  night  at  Anderson's  mill.  That  night  we  could 
trace  the  line  of  Sherman's  camps  by  the  glare  of  the  incendiary 
fires,  lighting  up  the  horizon  for  miles  above  and  below  us.  I 
had  been  ordered  to  drive  ahead  of  us  all  the  work  animals  pos 
sible  from  the  country,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  We  carried  away  with  us  nine  or  ten  very  fine  mules 
of  Dr.  Cloud's  and  three  or  four  of  Dr.  Anderson's,  and  after  the 
surrender  at  Greensboro  I  directed  them  to  be  returned  to  their 
owners,  but  whether  any  of  them  reached  their  destinations  I  can 
not  say.  I  learned  that  I  was  soundly  abused  for  taking  the 
animals  away.  If  their  owners  had  been  aware  that  I  was  acting 
under  orders,  and  how  much  trouble  they  caused  me,  they  would 
doubtless  have  spared  me. 

Next  morning  we  moved  from  Fishing  Creek  towards  Gouche's 
ferry,  on  the  Catawba  river,  and  as  the  people  living  on  our  line 
of  march  could  give  me  no  information  of  a  ford,  I  determined  to 
ferry  over  the  men  and  equipments  in  the  ferryboat  at  Gouche's 
and  swim  the  horses.  The  Twentieth  and  Fourteenth  corps  were 
closing  in  on  us  above  and  the  Fifteenth  and  Seventeenth  below, 
so  the  chances  of  getting  out  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  were 
cut  off. 

I  had  one  squadron  unsaddled  and  started  a  man  on  a  horse 
ahead  with  the  loose  horses  following  to  swim  across.  The  mounted 
man  had  almost  reached  the  opposite  bank,  with  the  loose  horses 
following  closely  on  his  heels,  when,  for  some  unaccountable 
reason,  the  loose  horses  turned  and  swam  back  to  our  side  of 
the  river.  They  drifted  with  the  current  some  distance  down, 
and  struck  the  bank  below  the  landing,  and  it  was  only  by  prompt 
and  hard  work  we  managed  to  draw  them  up  the  muddy,  steep 
bank  and  save  them. 


470  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

The  situation  looked  rather  squally.  Fortunately,  I  had  sent 
scouts  up  and  down  the  river,  as  we  could  learn  nothing  from  the 
citizens  of  the  neighborhood,  with  instructions«to  examine  all  the 
crossings  within  reach.  Those  from  below  reported  a  ford  at 
Wade's — Wade's  ford.  It  was  the  work  of  a  very  minutes  to 
mount  and  make  for  this  ford,  which  was  crossed  late  in  the 
afternoon,  and  the  Federal  commanders  were  disappointed  in  not 
bagging  their  game,  as  we  learned  from  a  prisoner  taken  next 
morning,  who  was  a  clerk  at  Logan's  headquarters,  that  they 
expected  to  do. 

After  passing  Lancaster  Court  House,  where  the  home  guard 
had  been  disbanded  by  General  Garlington  the  day  before,  we 
moved  east,  or  southeast.  On  the  old  Hanging  Kock  battle  ground 
of  the  Revolution,  the  Cobb  Legion  of  Young's  brigade  had  an 
encounter  with  a  regiment  of  Sherman's  bummers,  and  drove  it 
pell  mell  for  some  distance,  killing  and  capturing  quite  a  number. 
Thence  we  marched  towards  Cantey's  plantation  on  Little 
Lynche's  creek.  We  were  constantly  engaged  with  flankers  and 
bummers  of  the  enemy,  and  the  night  before  we  reached  Cantey's 
I  had  intended  to  make  a  night  attack  on  the  Fifteenth  corps,  but 
a  terrible  rain  storm  came  up  before  we  could  get  in  striking  dis 
tance.  The  night  was  the  darkest  and  the  rain  the  hardest  that 
I  had  ever  known  before  or  since,  and  so  interfered  with  our 
plans  as  to  make  an  attack  at  daylight  impossible. 

When  we  reached  Cantey's  about  nine  o'clock  next  morning,  we 
discovered  the  enemy  loading  eight  or  ten  wagons  from  Mr. 
Cantey's  barns.  I  sent  Colonel  Rutledge  forward  with  the  Fourth 
South  Carolina  regiment  to  charge  and  to  take  the  wagons  and 
escort.  This  was  done  iii  handsome  style,  capturing  the  loaded 
wagons  and  several  prisoners.  We  hurried  them  to  the  bridge 
near  by  over  Little  Lynche's  creek,  and  just  as  our  rear,  the 
Phillip's  Legion  of  Young's  brigade,  was  clearing  the  bridge,  a 
regiment  or  brigade  of  Federal  infantry  swung  suddenly  out  and 
opened  fire,  but  they  were  too  late  to  do  much  damage.  Here  it 
was  that  Sherman's  troops  captured  and  carried  off  Mr.  Thomas 
Pusear's  celebrated  race  horse  "Censor"  and  others.  They  were 
racing  them  below  Cantey's  farm,  as  we  learned,  when  we  came 
upon  them. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  471 

The  swamp  on  the  east  or  north  side  of  Lynche's  creek  was 
covered  with  water  from  the  heavy  rains,  in  some  places  up  to 
the  saddle  skirts.  As  we  were  moving  into  the  water,  necessarily 
at  a  slow  pace,  a  squad  of  mounted  bummers  followed  us  and 
fired  on  our  rear.  The  audacity  of  the  thing  took  us  somewhat 
by  surprise,  but  the  rearguard,  the  Phillip's  Legion,  always  pre 
pared  for  any  emergency,  turned  upon  them  and  killed,  captured 
or  wounded  the  entire  party,  seventeen  in  number,  before  they 
could  retrace  their  steps  to  the  bridge. 

We  moved  into  the  pine  woods  to  Big  Lynche's  creek,  now 
Lynche's  river,  and  crossed  at  Pierce's  bridge,  turned  down  the 
stream  to  Kellytown,  a  hamlet  near  Tiller's  ferry.  As  Sherman 
appeared  to  have  halted  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  it  occurred 
to  me  he  might  determine  to  turn  the  head  of  his  column  towards 
Georgetown,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  supplies,  but  it  turned 
out  he  was  delayed  by  high  water.  I  halted  for  two  days  at 
Kellytown  and  sent  Colonel  Hugh  Aiken  with  a  strong  detach 
ment  down  the  river  on  a  reconnoitering  expedition,  and  Major 
Brown  of  the  Cobb  Legion  up  the  stream  on  a  similar  errand. 
Late  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  I  heard  from  Major 
Brown  that  Blair's  corps,  the  Seventeenth,  had  crossed  at  Pierce's 
bridge,  where  we  had  crossed,  and  from  the  detachment  under 
Colonel  Aiken  that  the  enemy  had  crossed  below.  This  gallant 
officer  was  killed  the  night  before  in  a  fight  with  a  detachment  of 
Sherman's  army,  near  Mt.  Eron  church.  This  detachment  had 
been  sent  toward  Florence  to  release  the  Federal  prisoners  impris 
oned  there.  Aiken's  encounter  turned  them  back. 

Becoming  satisfied  from  these  reports  that  Sherman  was 
moving  on  Cheraw,  we  started  about  dark  for  that  point,  march 
ing  all  that  night,  and  next  day  reached  the  Confederate  out 
posts  just  before  sunset. 

I  reported  to  General  Hardee,  who  had  moved  the  garrison 
from  Charleston,  consisting  of  about  14,000  men,  as  reported  at 
the  time.  The  advance -of  Blair's  corps  reached  within  a  few 
miles  of  Cheraw  the  same  evening  that  we  did. 

I  informed  General  Hardee  that  Blair's  corps,  consisting,  as  I 
was  informed,  of  17,000  or  20,000  men,  must  have  been  at  least 
twelve  hours'  march  ahead  of  the  other  corps  of  Sherman's  army, 
and  suggested  that  he  attack  Blair  next  morning  with  his  14,000 


472  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  18G1-1865. 

men  reinforced  by  my  division,  and  that  if  he  would  do  so  I  was 
satisfied  we  could  administer  a  severe  blow  and  check  Sherman's 
advance,  but  he  did  not  appear  to  think  it  advisable,  and,  per 
haps  he  was  right.  General  Hardee  directed  me  to  picket  Thomp 
son's  creek  and  to  go  in  person  to  Chesterfield  Court  House  with 
such  of  my  command  as  I  could  spare  and  watch  the  movements 
of  the  enemy  from  that  direction.  He  ordered  a  brigade  of 
infantry  on  duty  on  the  Chesterfield  road  to  report  to  me  with  this 
small  force.  We  retired,  fighting  at  every  point  from  Chester 
field  Court  House  toward  Cheraw.  At  nightfall  the  enemy  had 
not  crossed  Thompson's  creek,  which  is  about  eight  miles  distant 
from  Cheraw  by  the  Chesterfield  road  and  four  miles  by  the  road 
to  Camden.  We  had  to  guard  the  crossings  of  the  creek  covering 
the  entire  front  of  Cheraw. 

A  short  time  after  dark  a  courier  brought  me  a  message  from 
General  Hardee  directing  me  to  report  to  him  at  once.  I  reached 
his  headquarters  about  nine  p.  m.,  and  as  there  have  been  a  good 
many  romances  about  what  occurred  that  night  and  the  next  day, 
I  will  ask  you  to  excuse  me  for  entering  rather  minutely  into  the 
details  of  what  I  know  of  the  incidents,  and  shall  only  speak  of 
what  comes  within  my  own  knowledge. 

I  found  at  General  Hardee's  headquarters  General  McLaws, 
General  Eans  Wright,  General  Talafeiro  and  General  Stephen 
Elliott.  They  had  evidently  been  holding  a  council  of  war,  for 
soon  after  I  entered  and  exchanged  salutations  General  Hardee 
said  to  me,  in  substance,  the  following:  "General,  after  your 
experience  in  today's  operations,  what  do  you  advise  in  regard  to 
the  evacuation  of  Cheraw?"  My  prompt  reply  was  "that  he 
ought  to  get  his  army  across  the  Pee  Dee  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment."  Some  of  the  other  officers,  notably  General  McLaws, 
advanced  the  opinion  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  haste.  I 
said,  "Well,  gentlemen,  you  have  asked  my  opinion  and  I  have 
given  it  frankly,  and  have  heard  nothing  to  induce  me  to  change 
it."  I  had  no  intimation  of  what  had  been  discussed  before  my 
arrival,  but  my  opinion  appeared  to  settle  whatever  doubt  that 
existed  in  General  Hardee's  mind,  as  he  at  once  began  to  dictate 
aloud  an  order  to  his  adjutant-general,  Major  Roy,  for  the 
withdrawal  of  the  troops. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  473 

The  first  paragraph  directed  the  chiefs  of  the  quartermaster, 
ordnance  and  subsistence  departments  to  begin  the  moving  of 
their  trains  next  morning  at  daylight.  When  the  paragraph  was 
finished  I  suggested  that  the  order  be  changed  to  take  effect  at 
once  that  night,  and  the  change  was  accordingly  made.  The  last 
paragraph  of  the  order  directed  that  my  division  should  bring 
up  the  rear,  destroy  what  public  stores  that  might  be  left  and 
burn  the  covered  bridge  over  the  Pee  Dee. 

My  reason  for  suggesting  the  change  in  General  Hardee's  order 
was  based  on  the  fact  that  great  quantities  of  stores,  public  and 
private,  had  been  sent  up  from  the  low-country  to  Cheraw  for 
safety,  and  I  felt  quite  sure  it  would  require  more  time  for  their 
removal  in  view  of  the  rapid  advance  of  the  enemy,  and  the  event 
proved  the  correctness  of  this  opinion. 

By  daylight  next  morning  the  infantry,  artillery  and  wagon 
trains  had  been  pretty  well  cleared  out  of  the  town,  leaving  only 
my  division.  I  had  scarcely  time  to  get  in  one  of  my  brigades 
from  up  the  Chesterfield  road  before  the  enemy  reached  the  out 
skirts  of  Cheraw  on  the  Camden  road.  I  halted  a  Georgia 
battalion  of  infantry  at  the  forks  of  the  two  roads  to  hold  the 
enemy  in  check  until  Young's  brigade  could  get  in  on  the  Ches 
terfield  road.  As  it  was,  forty-six  men  were  cut  off,  but  they 
managed  to  make  their  way  across  the  river  higher  up  and 
escaped.  As  soon  as  the  brigade  got  in  I  relieved  the  infantry 
battalion,  which  in  the  meantime  had  had  rather  a  fierce  skirmish 
with  the  advance  of  the  enemy  at  the  fork  of  the  roads. 

I  then  deployed  everything  I  had  across  the  different  streets 
and  retired  to  the  bridge  in  the  face  of  a  sharp  fire,  returned  shot 
for  shot,  except  that  we  had  no  artillery,  while  the  enemy  brought 
a  battery  and  fired  down  the  main  street.  The  horse  of  one  of 
my  couriers,  Edward  Wells,  of  the  Charleston  Light  Dragoons, 
was  killed  under  him  before  reaching  the  bridge. 

So  close  was  the  call  at  the  bridge  that  as  my  rear  guard  passed 
out  at  the  east  end  the  enemy  was  entering  the  west  end.  The 
rear  guard  consisted  of  a  squadron  from  Young's  brigade,  com 
manded  by  Captain  Baugh.  Happening  to  be  with  the  rear 
guard,  I  directed  Captain  Baugh  to  dismount  his  men,  send  his 
horses  behind  the  abutment  of  the  bridge,  drive  the  enemy  out 
and  set  fire  to  the  bridge.  As  horse  flesh  was  very  valuable  at 


474  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

that  time,  I  sent  my  own  out  of  danger,  and  together  we  drove 
the  enemy  out  and  set  fire  to  the  piles  of  rosin  deposited  at 
intervals  along  the  floor  of  the  bridge  by  .General  Hardee's 
engineer  officers.  We  soon  had  it  in  flames  and  gave  General 
Hardee  time  to  start  his  heavy  trains. 

Colonel  Alfred  Ehett  was  ordered  that  evening  to  report  to  me 
for  duty  with  his  brigade  as  a  part  of  the  rear  guard.  The 
brigade  consisted  of  the  First  South  Carolina  regular  infantry, 
commanded  by  Colonel  William  Butler ;  the  First  South  Carolina 
regular  artillery,  commanded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Joe  Yates, 
and  the  South  Carolina  Heavy  Artillery,  whose  commander  I  do 
not  now  recall.  This  brigade  was  deployed  along  the  east  bank 
of  the  river  and  kept  up  a  lively  sharp  shooting  with  the  enemy 
until  nine  or  ten  o'clock.  During  the  firing  Lieutenant- Colonel 
Warren  Adams,  First  South  Carolina  infantry,  was  wounded 
near  me  by  a  shot  in  the  chest  which  I  supposed  would  be  fatal, 
but  the  force  of  the  bullet  had  been  broken  in  some  way  and  only 
inflicted  a  slight  wound.  Colonel  Khett  was  soon  afterwards 
taken  prisoner  at  Averysboro,  and  the  command  of  the  brigade 
devolved  upon  Colonel  William  Butler.  In  this  narrative  I  have 
not  attempted  as  much  as  a  reference  to  the  almost  daily  con 
flicts  we  had  with  some  portion  of  Sherman's  army.  With  only  a 
handful  of  men  we  could  get  only  an  occasional  blow  at  detach 
ments  foraging  and  plundering  the  helpless  inhabitants. 

Soon  after  the  evacuation  of  Cheraw  General  Joseph  E.  John 
ston  assumed  command  of  the  army.  General  Hardee,  however, 
commanded  in  person  at  the  battle  of  Averysboro,  in  which  my 
division  did  not  participate. 

General  E.  M.  Law  was  assigned  to  the  temporary  command  of 
Butler's  brigade,  and  before  the  battle  of  Bentonville  was  relieved 
by  Brigadier-General  T.  M.  Logan,  who  had  recently  been  pro 
moted  to  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  General  John 
Dunovant.  This  gallant  and  distinguished  officer  led  the  brigade 
at  the  fight  of  McDowell's  farm,  below  Petersburg,  and  was  killed 
on  the  fighting  line  the  1st  day  of  October,  1864.  I  rejoined 
General  Hampton,  who  had  been  with  Wheeler's  division,  near 
the  old  fair  grounds  in  North  Carolina,  after  a  separation  of  two 
weeks  or  more  operating  on  my  own  hook.  Just  before  we 
reached  the  junction  we  had  a  tilt  with  Kilpatrick's  cavalry,  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  475 

first  time  we  had  met,  and  recaptured  some  Catawba  wine  he  had 
sent  out  to  seize  from  a  citizen  and  took  a  number  of  prisoners. 
We  had  also  had  quite  a  heavy  engagement  with  a  portion  of 
the  Seventeenth  corps  at  the  crossing  of  Black  river,  where  we 
killed  several  and  captured  a  number  of  prisoners  loaded  down 
with  plunder. 

I  wish  time  permitted  and  your  patience  could  further  endure 
a  description  of  the  attack  on  Kilpatrick's  camp  at  daylight,  his 
flight  in  his  night  clothes,  Wheeler's  inability  to  carry  out  his 
part  of  the  programme  because  of  an  unforeseen  obstacle,  in  a 
boggy  swamp,  and  the  severe  losses  we  suffered  by  reason  of  the 
same.  Among  others  killed  on  that  eventful  morning  was  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  King,  of  the  Cobb  Legion,  while  gallantly  leading 
a  dismounted  charge;  also  my  friend  and  college  classmate, 
Sergeant  Sam  Cothran,  of  the  Sixth  South  Carolina  cavalry, 
who  was  shot  down  and  instantly  killed  near  me,  with  sixty 
others,  in  an  inconceivably  short  space  of  time.  It  was  a  sad  fate 
so  near  the  end,  after  so  many  years  of  such  splendid  service.  I 
am  not  sure,  however,  that  they  were  not  more  fortunate  than 
those  of  us  who  survived  to  suffer  the  humiliation  of  defeat  and 
the  terrors  of  reconstruction.  They  died  as  all  gallant  soldiers 
prefer  to  die,  fighting  on  the  front  line  of  battle  for  their  con 
victions  and  love  of  country. 

Our  fight  in  the  streets  of  Fayetteville,  the  battle  of  Benton- 
ville,  the  armistice,  the  final  terms  of  surrender,  were  the  ringing 
down  of  the  curtain  after  the  last  acts  of  one  of  the  most  gigantic 
struggles  in  the  annals  of  war.  It  may  interest  you  to  learn  some 
thing,  as  I  draw  my  remarks  to  a  close,  of  the  closing  scenes 
which  led  to  the  surrender  and  disbanding  of  Johnston's  army  at 
Greensboro,  N.  C. 

With  scarce  28,000  men  he  had  met  Sherman's  80.000  or  90,000 
at  Bentonville  and  fought  one  of  the  fiercest  battles  of  the  war. 
Lee  having  surrendered  soon  afterwards  at  Appomattox.  Va.,  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  was  arranged  between  Johnston  and  Sher 
man,  as  I  now  remember,  for  a  few  days.  Before  the  expiration 
of  the  armistice  Generals  Hampton  and  Wheeler  had  left  John 
ston's  army  to  proceed,  as  it  was  understood  at  the  time,  to  the 
trans-Mississippi  department  to  join  that  army  and  continue  the 
war. 


476 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1S61-1865. 


This  left  me  the  ranking  cavalry  officer  of  Johnston's  armv, 
with  headquarters  at  Hillsboro,  N.  C.  General  Kilpatrick  cov 
ered  Sherman's  front,  and  through  his  and  nfy  headquarters  all 
messages  between  Johnston  and  Sherman  passed.  The  day  before 
the  termination  of  the  armistice  General  Johnston  telegraphed 
me  from  Greensboro  to 
meet  him  at  the  rail 
road  with  an  escort 
and  led  horse  and  ac 
company  him  to  Gen 
eral  Sherman's  head 
quarters.  Accordingly 
we  were  at  the  railroad 
to  meet  him  on  the 
down  train,  with  a 
squadron  of  cavalry 
and  extra  horse.  When 
we  were  within  a  mile 
or  so  of  Sherman's 
headquarters  we  wrere 
met  by  a  detachment  of 
Kilpatrick's  cavalry 
and  escorted  to  the 
Bennett  House,  where 
General  Sherman 


awaiting 


was 

us.     He   and 
Johnston   entered 


GENERAL    T. 


LOGAN 


General  Johnston  entered  the  house,  while  I,  accompanied 
by  General  T.  M.  Logan,,  Major  John  S.  Preston  and  Captain 
James  N.  Lipscomb,  of  my  staff,  remained  in  the  yard. 

In  a  short  time  we  were  joined  by  General  O.  O.  Howard  and 
later  by  Generals  Schofield,  Blair  and  Kilpatrick,  with  whom  we 
engaged  in  conversation  until  invited  into  the  house  to  join  the 
two  commanding  generals,  after  they  had  made  their  final  terms 
of  capitulation.  It  is  conceded,  I  believe,  that  these  terms  were 
drawn  up  by  Major-General  John  M.  Schofield.  General  John 
ston  concentrated  his  army  at  Greensboro,  where  it  was  paroled. 

Major-General  Hartsuff,  of  Sherman's  army,  and  myself,  rep 
resenting  Johnston's  army,  were  appointed  a  joint  commission  to 
sign  the  muster  rolls  of  the  Confederate  cavalry.  When  my  sig- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  477 

nature  was  attached  to  those  rolls  I  performed  one  of  the  most 
painful  duties  of  my  life,  and  I  never  recur  to  it  without  a  feeling 
of  sadness  and  gloom. 

General  Johnston  directed  me  before  discharging  the  division 
that  I  should  superintend  the  distribution  of  about  $17,000  in 
silver  to  the  officers  and  men.  This  was  done,  and  my  share  of 
the  fund  was  $1.75,  which  was  about  the  amount  of  my  worldly 
assets  with  which  to  begin  life  anew. 

We  separated  about  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865,  and  marched  to 
our  homes  with  the  full  consciousness  of  duty  well  performed. 
We  made  no  apologies  and  have  made  none  since,  the  only  regrets 
felt  or  expressed  were  that  we  had  not  triumphed  in  our  cause 
and  won  the  final  victory  after  so  much  hard  fighting  and  so 
many  sacrifices. 

In  parting  after  this  reunion  who  knows  to  how  many  it  will  be 
the  last.  I  greet  you,  my  old  Confederate  friends,  with  the  sin 
cere  affection  of  a  devoted  comrade  who  has  shared  with  you  the 
glories  of  successful  battle  under  the  Starry  Cross  and  the  sorrows 
and  gloom  of  undeserved  defeat.  And  to  the  Sons  of  Veterans, 
worthy  sons  of  worthy  sires,  I  congratulate  you  on  the  heritage 
you  have  in  the  prestige  of  your  fathers,  and  commend  their 
splendid  records  as  soldiers  and  citizens  to  your  jealous  guardian 
ship.  A  few  years  more  and  there  will  be  nothing  of  them  left 
except  the  sacred  memories  of  their  lives  and  the  lofty  example 
of  their  unselfish  patriotism. 

"Hushed  is  the  roll  of  the  Rebel  drum, 

The  sabres  sheathed  and  the  cannon  are  dumb, 
And  Fate,  with  pitiless  hand,  has  furled 
The  flag  that  once  challenged  the  gaze  of  the  world." 


478  BUTLER  AXD  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


COMMANDS  OF  M.  C.  BUTLER 

Captain  Hampton  Legion  June  12,  1861. 

Major  Hampton  Legion  July  21,  1861. 

Colonel  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry  August  22,  1862. 

Brigadier-General  September  1,  1863. 

Major- General  September  19,  1864. 

COMMANDS. 

Commanding  First  Brigade  of  Cavalry,  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  consisting  of  the  First  and  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry, 
Cobb's  Legion  of  Cavalry,  Jeff.  Davis'  Legion  of  Cavalry, 
Philips'  Legion  of  Cavalry,  and  First  North  Carolina  Cavalry. 
Hampton's  old  brigade  in  May,  1864,  brigade  composed  of  the 
Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  South  Carolina  Regiments  Cavalry,  and 
Keitt's  Squadron  was  afterwards  added.  Division  originally 
composed  of  the  cavalry  brigades  of  Rosser,  Young,  Butler,  and 
Dearing. 

STAFF. 

Barker,  T.  G.,  Major,  A.  A.  G.,  November  4,  1864. 

Davis,  Zimmerman,  Lieu  tenant- Colonel,  A.  A.  G.,  July,  1864. 

Lipscombe,  J.  N.,  Captain,  A.  A.  G.,  November  4,  1864. 

Lowndes,  R.,  Captain,  A.  A.  G.,  November,  1864. 

Preston,  John  S.,  Major,  A.  A.  G.,  November,  1864. 

Butler,  O.  N.,  Captain,  A.  D.  C.,  May,  1864. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


479 


DEATH  OF  BRIG.-GEN.  JOHN  DUNOVANT 

Brigadier-General  John  Dunovant  held  rank  of  captain  in 
Tenth  U.  S.  Infantry  before  the  war,  and  that  of  major  of 
infantry  in  the  South  Carolina  army  during  the  initial  operations 
of  the  War  of  the  Confederacy  and  during  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  Sumter ;  was  present  at  Fort  Moultrie,  doing  all  that  was  in 
his  power.  Subsequently  he  became  colonel  of  the  First  Regi 
ment  of  Regular  Infantry,  and  was 
stationed  for  some  time  on  Sullivan's 
Island  and  at  Fort  Moultrie.  Later,  in 
1862,  he  was  given  command  of  the 
Fifth  Regiment  South  Carolina  Cav 
alry,  in  which  capacity  he  served  in  the 
State  until  ordered  to  Virginia  in 
March,  1864.  There  he  and  his  regi 
ment  were  under  the  brigade  command 
of  General  M.  C.  Butler.  The  regiment 
under  his  leadership  did  admirable 
service.  General  Dunovant  reported  at  the  battle  of  Drury's 
Bluff  May  16,  1864,  and  subsequently  in  the  encounters  with  Sher 
idan's  Cavalry.  He  shared  the  services  of  Butler's  Cavalry  at 
Cold  Harbor,  Trevillian,  Xance's  Shop,  Gravelly  Rim,  Ream's 
Station  and  McDowell's  Farm.  On  August  2,  1864,  President 
Davis  suggested  to  General  Lee  Dunovant's  promotion  to  briga 
dier-general,  and  it  was  soon  after  ordered. 

He  was  killed  1st  October,  1864.  On  receipt  of  news  of  the 
death  of  the  gallant  soldier,  General  Lee  replied  to  General 
Hampton :  "I  grieve  with  you  at  the  loss  of  General  Dunovant 
and  Dr.  Fontaine,  two  officers  whom  it  will  be  difficult  to  replace." 


BRIG.-GEN.   JOHN  DUNOVANT. 


31— B.   C. 


480  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


HISTORY  AND  WAR  ANECDOTES 

GENERAL  LAFAYETTE  AND  THE   CONFEDERATE   SOLDIER. 

Forty  years  after  the  Revolution,  1776  to  1783,  on  the  10th  of 
March,  1825,  nearly  a  century  ago,  when  that  knightly  and 
chivalrous  hero,  Lafayette,  passed  through  this  beautiful  city. 
Spring's  balmiest  and  most  radiant  sunbeams  had  kissed  into  gen 
erous  bloom  the  flowers  of  wintry  March,  and  these  first  offerings 
of  spring  were  laid  by  grateful  hands  in  the  carriage  ways  and 
streets  and  in  the  dust,  that  the  foot  of  that  gallant  son  of  France 
should  tread  this  rare  and  radiant  pathway  of  sweetest  perfume. 
And  with  the  queenly  roses  there  lay  the  white  lily  flags,  the 
"Fleur  de  Lis"  of  his  own  loved  native  land.  He  won  the  affec 
tions  of  the  stern-browed  and  iron-souled  warriors  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  thenceforth  a  halo  of  glory  surrounded  him,  and  he  was 
hailed  by  all  the  world  as  the  Apostle  of  Liberty.  Lafayette  was 
received  with  open  arms  by  the  warm-hearted  and  chivalrous 
sons  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  entertained  in  the  large  and 
commodious  house  on  Gervais  street  so  long  occupied  by  Bishop 
Capers. 

"On  the  10th  of  March  he  arrived  at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  with  an 
escort  of  about  1,000  troops.  Splendid  arches  had  been  thrown 
up  and  he  was  welcomed  in  an  address  from  the  Governor  of  the 
State  and  another  from  Dr.  Cooper,  the  president  of  the  college. 
Some  of  the  militia  on  this  occasion  evinced  an  alacrity  which  is 
not  unworthy  of  notice.  'From  two  brigades  in  the  interior  of 
the  State,  200  men  from  each,  called  into  service  by  the  Governor, 
reached  Columbia  in  three  days  after  the  receipt  of  their  orders. 
They  marched  from  sixty  to  seventy  miles  on  foot  in  full  uniform. 
Among  those  wrho  were  assembled  at  Columbia  to  welcome  the 
general  he  recognized  Judge  Waties,  the  only  survivor  of  the 
party  which  received  him  on  his  first  landing  in  this  country  at 
General  Huger's,  in  Georgetown."  See  life  of  Lafayette. 

Forty  years  after  the  great  War  Between  the  States,  1861  to 
1865,  that  knightly  and  chivalrous  gentleman,  General  Wilie 
Jones,  suggested  to  the  sterling  veteran.  Captain  W.  D.  Starling, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  481 

the  idea  of  strewing  flowers,  and  the  reunion  committee,  assisted 
by  Professor  Dreher,  on  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  13th  of 
May,  1903,  like  God's  sweetest  benediction — fell  the  gentle  rain 
from  the  heavens  upon  the  gallant  and  battle-scarred  warriors  of 
our  great  cause  and  upon  the  fair  and  dainty  little  children  whose 
wee  hands  had  made  of  May's  loveliest  flowers  a  carpet  from 
Lady  street  to  the  State  house.  Upon  this  fragrant  pathway  of 
flowers  they  marched  once  again,  clad  in  their  suits  of  gray. 
Some  of  these  were  at  Chancellorsville,  w^here  Stonewall  Jackson 
took  victory  out  of  the  Yankee  General  Hooker's  hand  and  car 
ried  it  with  him  to  his  grave.  Some  were  at  Gettysburg.  Shiloh, 
Chickamauga,  and  some  with  Hampton  and  Butler  at  Trevillian 
and  Sapony  Church,  and  some  with  Mart  Gary  on  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  and  some  from  First  Mannassas  to  Bentonville.  Oh ! 
grand  old  patriots  who  have  so  nobly  fought  and  bled,  though 
thy  steps  be  feeble  and  slow7  and  down  the  west  life's  sun  is 
setting  fast.  Forever  our  hearts  will  live  in  the  memory  of  your 
white  deeds  of  valor  and  your  noble  brows  we  croAvn  with  the 
garlands  of  fadeless  laurel  and  with  the  wreaths  of  deathless 
immortelles. 


South  Carolina  can  boast  of  having  had  in  the  War  of  Seces 
sion  the  youngest  colonel  of  the  line,  James  R.  Hagood,  aged  19. 
The  youngest  colonel  of  artillery  was  John  C.  Haskell,  aged  20. 
John  D.  Kennedy  was  the  youngest  brigadier-general,  24  years 
old,  and  at  28  Gen.  M.  C.  Butler  Avas  a  major-general,  and  at  32 
Stephen  D.  Lee  was  a  lieutenant-general.  The  first  brigade  of 
Confederate  troops  that  left  our  State  was  commanded  by  General 
M.  L.  Bonham,  and  while  commanding  the  brigade  was  elected 
Governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  again  was  the  last  brigadier- 
general  appointed  from  South  Carolina — 1865. 

While  at  home  in  Edgefield  on  furlough  in  1861  General  Bon- 
ham  met  a  big  boy  and  said,  "Hello,  Bill,  how's  your  pa?"  "He 
is  dead,  sir,'  was  the  answer.  And  late  in  the  afternoon  the  old 
general  met  the  same  boy  again  and  said,  "Hello,  Bill,  how's 
your  pa?"  "He  is  still  dead,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 


482  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

When  the  gallant  General  Perrin  raised  a  company  at  Edge- 
field,  Rube  Golden  and  Lorenzie  Radden  were  among  the  first  to 
join,  and  as  the  10th  of  August,  1861,  drew  neaf  for  tne  company 
to  go  to  the  front,  Lorenzie  would  often  say :  "Oh,  Golden !  Oh, 
Golden!  You  think  Perrin's  company  will  go?"  and  when 
Golden  said,  "Yes,  you  fool ;  what  in  the  devil  did  they  volunteer 
for  if  they  are  not  going?"  Lorenzie's  only  reply  was,  "Oh,  my !" 


Company  "D"  was  Perrin's  in  the  Fourteenth  S.  C.  Regiment. 
James  Jones  was  the  first  colonel,  Sam'l  McGowan,  lieutenant- 
colonel,  W.  D.  Simpson  was  the  major,  and  while  this  gallant  old 
regiment  was  in  camp  of  instruction  at  Pole  Cat,  near  Aiken, 
S.  C.,  every  morning  at  8  o'clock  the  sick  call  was  sounded.  So 
one  morning,  Lorenzie  Radden  walked  up  and  the  doctor  said, 
"Well,  what  is  the  matter,  are  you  sick?"  and  Lorenzie  said, 
"Sick?  Why  sick?  Hell,  haint  I  been  sick  for  three  days  and 
better,  an'  haint  a  bit  of  stomach." 


When  the  Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry  was  stationed  at 
Adams'  Run  in  1862,  General  Hagood  sent  Company  "B"  of  that 
gallant  olcf  regiment  over  to  Jacksonboro  to  do  picket  duty  on  Cat 
Island,  Bears  Island  and  along  the  Edisto,  under  Captain  Lewis 
Jones.  We  went  into  camp  below  Jacksonboro  and  about  twenty 
men  were  sent  down  on  Bears  Island  to  remain  two  weeks  to 
picket  at  Bennett's  Point.  The  reserve  picket  post  was  about 
two  miles  this  side  of  the  Point,  where  two  men  were  kept  on 
vidette  for  twenty-four  hours.  One  day,  while  at  Jacksonboro. 
old  man  Scott  came  down  from  Edgefield  with  his  three  sons  to 
"jine,"  as  he  said  to  Captain  Jones.  So  they  were  all  mustered 
into  service  and  the  boys  in  the  company  at  once  nick-named  the 
whole  party,  and  they  were  known  afterwards  as  Old  Scott, 
Yaller  Scott,  Lean  Scott  and  Young  Scott.  For  "we"  they  would 
say  "we-ens"  and  for  "you"  or  "yours,"  they  would  say  "youens." 
One  night  when  "Yaller"  and  "Lean"  were  relieved  at  the  Point, 
Jim  Kimbrill,  George  Addison,  Bill  Head  and  myself  thought 
that  it  would  be  so  nice  to  play  a  joke  on  the  videttes,  "Yaller" 
and  "Lean."  and  meet  them  on  the  road  in  the  dark  and  fire  off 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  483 

our  guns  over  their  heads,  thinking,  of  course,  they  would  drop 
the  bag  of  oysters,  which  we  would  capture,  as  we  expected  them 
to  beat  a  hasty  retreat, — but  lo  and  behold,  when  we  fired,  instead 
of  running,  Lean  Scott  quietly  dismounted  and  said  to  his  brother, 
"Here,  Yaller,  hold  her  creter  till  we-ens  doos  some  shooten." 
We  lost  no  time  in  making  ourselves  known  to  them  and  they 
quietly  said,  "Why,  we-ens  took  you-ens  for  Yankees,"  and  they 
ate  their  oysters  at  the  Reserve  Post  while  we  looked  on. 

*  *         *         * 

The  following  incident  of  a  battle  is  related  by  an  eyewitness. 
Two  Kentucky  regiments — Yankee  and  Confederate — met  face 
to  face  and  fought  each  other  with  terrible  resolution,  and  it  hap 
pened  that  one  of  the  Yankee  boys  wounded  and  captured  his 
brother,  and  after  handing  him  back,  began  firing  at  a  man  near 
a  tree,  when  the  captured  brother  called  to  him  and  said :  "Don't 
shoot  there  any  more ;  that's  father." 

*  #         *         * 

On  the  Warren  raid  in  December,  1864,  one  of  Butlers  Cavalry 
stopped  at  a  house  and  said  to  the  lady,  who  asked  what  he 
wished,  "Madam,  could  you  lend  me  your  frying  pan?  I  belong 
to  the  picket  down  here."  "Yes,  sir,"  and  forthwith  came  the 
pan.  He  took  it,  looked  in  it,  turned  it  over  and  looked  into  it 
very  hard  as  if  not  certain  it  was  clean.  "Well,  sir,"  said  the 
lady,  "can  I  do  anything  more  for  you?"  "Could — could — could 
you  lend  me  a  piece  of  meat  to  fry  in  it,  madam?"  and  he 

laughed  in  spite  of  himself.    He  got  it. 

*  *         *         * 

When  General  B.  F.  Butler  was  in  command  at  New  Orleans, 
he  was  informed  that  Father  Ryan,  priest  and  poet,  had  said  he 
would  even  refuse  to  hold  funeral  services  for  a  dead  Yankee. 
General  B.  F.  Butler  sent  for  him  in  haste,  and  began  roundly 
scolding  him  for  expressing  such  unchristian  and  rebellious  senti 
ments.  "General,"  the  wily  priest  answered,  "you  have  been  mis 
informed.  I  would  be  pleased  to  conduct  funeral  services  for  all 

the  Yankee  officers  and  men  in  New  Orleans." 

*  *         *         * 

Colonel  B.  W.  Ball,  adjutant  on  General  Gary's  staff,  was  sent 
early  one  morning  with  some  message  to  Colonel  R.  B.  Arnold, 
colonel  of  the  Hampton  Legion.  When  he  reached  Colonel 


484  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Arnold,  the  battle  was  raging  and  minnie  balls  falling  thick  and 
fast.  When  Colonel  Ball  approached  Arnold,  the  latter  stepped 
from  a  small  tree  with  which  he  was  sheltering*  himself  from  the 
fire  of  the  enemy,  and  very  politely  said  to  Colonel  Ball,  "Good 
morning,  Ball,"  and  with  a  wave  of  the  hand  added,  "have  my 
tree."  Colonel  Ball  said  he  (Arnold)  was  the  coolest  and  politest 
man  he  ever  saw. 


One  day  General  Hampton  told  Major  P.,  who  commanded  one 
of  Butler's  battalions  of  cavalry,  to  charge  some  Yankee  infantry. 
The  major  and  his  men  were  dismounted,  and  not  accustomed  to 
march  on  foot.  Just  before  reaching  the  Yankees,  the  major 
called  to  General  Hampton  and  said,  "The  sperit  are  willing  but 
the  wind  are  short."  The  major  was  brave  but  forgot  to  attend 
college  in  the  days  of  his  youth. 


A  captain  in  a  certain  South  Carolina  regiment  was  ordered  to 
charge  some  Yankees  in  a  lane,  and  he  said,  "Men,  remember 
where  you  are  from  and  follow  me,"  and  after  the  first  volley  had 
been  fired,  he  ran  into  a  fence  corner  and  said,  "Go  ahead,  my 
brave  boys,  for  your  good  old  capen  has  give  out." 


On  my  way  from  the  surrender  in  1865,  an  Irishman  was  riding 
with  me,  Pat  Delaney  by  name.  Pat  said,  "Well,  they  whipped 
us,  and  faith  it  was  all  thev  could  do." 


On  the  eve  of  the  Battle  of  the  Wilderness,  General  Gordon 
asked  an  officer  to  join  him  in  prayer.  The  officer  not  catching 
the  last  word  said,  "No,  thank  you,  I  have  just  had  some."  Just 
then  a  ragged  private  was  passing  and  was  called  on  to  pray— 
and  men  could  pray  at  such  times,  knowing  that  within  the  next 
hour  or  two  one  or  more  would  be  lying  in  the  dust.  On  this 
occasion,  the  soldier  began :  "O  Lord,  thou  knowest  we  are  about 
to  engage  in  a  terrible  conflict.  If  you  take  the  proper  view  of 
the  subject —  At  this  time  the  hearers  lost  their  gravity,  and 
fought  the  battle,  giggling  for  some  time. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  485 

THE  TENDEREST  ARE  THE  BRAVEST. 

In  the  winter  of  1863  Dick  Hogan  was  doing  good  work  behind 
the  Yankee  lines  with  his  squad  of  gallant  scouts,  capturing  and 
sending  prisoners  out  to  our  lines.  Hogan  could  not  strip  a  pris 
oner,  but  he  needed  a  watch,  and  said  to  his  men,  "Boys,  I  wish 
some  one  of  you  would  get  me  a  watch."  So  the  next  day  they 
captured  some  prisoners  and  one  of  them  had  a  fine  silver  watch 
with  a  very  long  chain.  When  the  scouts  drew  lots  for  the  cap 
tured  things,  Walker  Russell  got  the  chain  and  Wallace  Miller 
got  the  watch  and  gave  it  to  Dick,  which  he  appreciated  very 
much,  and  said,  "You  know,  Wallace,  I  did  not  have  the  heart 
to  take  it  from  a  prisoner." 


Once  while  Butler's  cavalry  were  fighting,  dismounted,  the  end 
of  our  line  happened  to  be  in  the  yard  of  a  country  house  and 
an  old  lady  ran  out  with  a  broomstick,  and  a  married  man  said, 
"Why,  you  can't  kill  anybody  with  that,"  and  she  replied,  "I 
know  I  can't  but  I  can  let  them  know  what  side  I  am  on." 


From  "Our  Women  in  the  War"  I  take  the  following  from 
letter  No.  36,  by  Miss  Annie  E.  Johns,  which  she  copied  from  her 
old  scrapbook,  called  the  "Confederate  Soldier's  Bride,"  as  show 
ing  the  true  feeling  of  our  noble  Southern  women : 

"They  said  I  must  not  wed  thee,  love, 

They  told  me  I  must  wait 
Till  these  dark  days  were  over  before 

I  linked  with  thine  my  fate ; 
But  hearts  that  love  not  cannot  choose 

For  hearts  that  love  like  mine; 
All — all — that  life  can  give  of  strength 

Is  mine,  now  I  am  thine." 

She  goes  on  to  say,  "How  strangely  was  the  ludicrous  mingled 
with  hospital  life."  "I  do  not  know  what  made  that  man  die," 
said  a  nurse,  as  we  stood  looking  at  all  that  was  mortal  of  a  poor 
soldier,  "for  the  doctors  gave  him  some  of  all  the  medicine  in  the 
drug  store." 


486  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

A  poor  old  woman  came  from  Georgia  to  see  her  sick  son,  after 
sending  sage  in  a  letter  to  make  tea  for  him,  and  arrived  in  time 
to  see  his  dead  body.  I  remember  the  name  *m  his  headboard, 
"B.  Still,"  and  characteristic  it  was  of  him. 


On  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  at  Appomattox,  General  Wallace 
had  only  about  200  men  left  in  his  old  brigade  and  they  were 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  ready  to  fight,  while  just  in  front  of 
them  were  four  lines  of  battle  of  well-dressed  Yankees,  also 
ready  to  fight,  and  some  one  gave  the  order  for  the  Confederates 
to  charge,  when  a  long,  quaint  private  of  this  brigade  with  the 
crown  of  his  old  gray  hat  gone,  his  shoes  had  also  departed  weeks 
before,  and  his  only  apparel  was  an  old  Yankee  overcoat  and  a 
pair  of  old  gray  pants  with  the  strap  of  his  cartridge  box  drawn 
tight  around  his  waist  to  keep  them  intact,  and  when  he  heard 
the  order  to  charge,  jumped  across  a  little  branch  and  fired  his 
gun  at  the  Yankees  and  said,  "Come  on,  gen-tile-men,  we  are 
giving  them  hell!"  He  soon  heard  the  command,  "Cease  firing!" 
"General  Lee  has  surrendered."  This  brave  soldier,  at  this  sad 
news,  threw  his  gun  down  and  cried  like  a  child. 


In  October,  1906,  two  of  Butler's  old  scouts  met  for  the  first 
time  since  the  war,  Dick  Hogan  and  Wallace  Miller.  They 
embraced  and  wept.  I  witnessed  the  scene,  and  like  the  boy  who 
stubbed  his  toe  and  was  too  big  to  cry,  slipped  off  and  used  my 
handkerchief,  for  I  myself  had  not  seen  old  Dick  since  1865. 


At  the  battle  of  Sailor's  Creek,  Virginia,  just  before  General 
Lee  reached  Appomattox,  General  Kershaw  was  captured,  together 
with  a  good  many  others,  among  whom  was  Colonel  C.  S. 
D wight,  who  was  ordered  by  a  private  soldier  to  surrender  at 
once  and  demanded  his  sword  and  pistol,  but,  much  to  the  surprise 
of  the  Yank,  Colonel  Dwight  swore  that  he  be  d — d  if  he  would 
surrender  to  a  private,  and  while  they  were  in  this  heated  con 
troversy  a  Yankee  officer  rode  up  and  the  Yankee  private  apprised 
the  officer  of  the  predicament  that  he  was  in.  So  the  officer  took 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  487 

charge  of  Colonel  Dwight  and  complimented  him  for  his  pluck, 
but  was  silent  as  to  his  judgment,  as  the  Federal  soldier  had  a 

right  to  shoot  him. 

*         *         *         * 

Just  after  the  war  a  prominent  railroad  man,  together  with  a 
capitalist  from  the  North  were  strolling  along  the  side  of  a 
mountain  near  Asheville,  N.  C.,  when  they  spied  a  typical  Con 
federate  soldier  coming  towards  them.  He  was  lank  and  lean, 
and  looked  sad.  The  railroad  man  suggested  to  the  capitalist  to 
ask  the  Confederate  to  tell  them  why  he  fought  in  the  Confed 
erate  army,  as  he  had  never  owned  a  slave,  and  the  old  soldier 
replied  that  early  in  1861  a  man  came  along  and  made  a  fine 
speech  and  told  them  "that  they  had  crossed  over ;  and,  stranger." 
said  he,  "I  went  home  and  got  my  gun  and  fought  four  long 
years,  and  would  have  fought  'til  yit,  but  'Marse  Robert'  said 
stop  fighting,  and,  stranger,  we  just  cried  and  come  home."  This 
is  patriotism  in  its  last  analysis. 


A  prominent  Confederate  officer  in  1864  said  to  his  faithful 
negro:  "Now,  Bob,  we  have  concluded  to  put  all  of  the  able- 
bodied  slaves  in  the  war  and  give  them  their  freedom  when  it  is 
over.  What  do  you  think  of  it?"  Old  Bob  looked  at  him  and 
scratched  his  head  and  said :  "Boss,  jest  let  me  tell  you.  Did  you 
ever  see  a  bone  do  anything  when  two  dogs  was  a  fighting 
over  it?"  U.  R.  B.  ' 


488  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


THE  CONFEDERATE  SOLDIER 

"The  Confederate  soldier  was  a  venerable  old  man,  a  youth,  a 
child,  a  preacher,  a  farmer,  a  merchant,  a  student,  a  statesman, 
orator,  father,  brother,  husband,  son — the  wonder  of  the  world, 
the  terror  of  his  foes !  When  we  fill  up  hurriedly  the  bloody 
chasm  opened  by  war,  we  should  be  careful  that  we  do  not  bury 
therein  many  noble  deeds,  some  tender  memories,  some  grand 
examples  and  some  hearty  promises  washed  with  tears." 

The  Yankees  are  a  great  people,  for  they  have,  without  a  doubt, 
proven  to  the  world  that  the  Confederate  soldiers  were  the 
greatest  warriors  that  were  ever  produced.  By  the  ingenuity  of 
the  Yankees  they  have  placed  high  up  on  the  roll  of  fame  a 
Lee,  a  Jackson,  a  Johnston,  a  Forrest,  a  Hampton  and  a  Butler. 
They  have  also  shown  to  mankind  that  they  fought  with  great 
courage,  and  that  it  took  more  than  four  of  them  four  years  to 
convince  one  Confederate  that  it  would  be  murder  to  continue 
the  struggle  any  longer.  Therefore  at  Appomattox  on  the  9th 
April,  1865,  Lee  ordered  his  8,000  veterans  to  lay  down  their 
muskets  and  to  cease  firing.  More  than  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  Yankees  Avitnessed  the  surrender  and  immediately 
divided  their  rations  with  their  brothers  in  grey,  who  were  suf 
fering  from  hunger,  the  most  dreadful  of  human  tortures.  None 
but  a  great  people  could  have  acted  so  magnanimously  while  the 
sound  of  the  "Rebel  Yell"  was  so  fresh  in  their  ears.  A  yell 
which  had  caused  them  ,to  stampede  and  leave  many  bloody 
fields  which  were  strewn  with  their  dead,  with  cannon,  small 
arms,  horses,  saddles,  blankets  and  wagons.  And  I  well  remember 
the  16th  September,  1864,  when  about  2,500  head  of  beeves  were 
turned  over  to  Hampton,  and  this  same  Rebel  yell  caused  270.000 
Yankees  to  throw  down  their  arms  and  surrender  to  the  Johnny 
Rebs,  as  it  pleased  them  to  call  the  Confederates.  The  Yankees 
are  silent  about  the  above  facts,  for  on  their  own  merits  modest 
men  are  dumb. 

War  is  a  dreadful  thing — more  horrible  than  any  of  this 
younger  generation  can  ever  realize.  Many  families  were  almost 
exterminated  in  our  war.  General  Grant  said,  in  the  early  part 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  489 

of  1864,  that  if  he  consented  to  exchange  prisoners  that  with  two 
hundred  thousand  Rebel  prisoners  turned  loose  Sherman's  army 
would  be  destroyed  and  his  own  army  would  be  in  great  danger, 
and  that  the  Rebels  would  have  to  be  exterminated  before  they 
would  surrender. 

Before  the  war  there  lived  on  a  beautiful  plantation  in  Fau- 
quier  Count}^,  about  eight  miles  from  Midland,  Va.,  William  and 
Elizabeth  Dulin,  whose  home  was  the  scene  of  many  gay  and 
happy  events,  and  the  owners  were  known  far  and  wide  for  their 
old-fashioned  Virginia  hospitality.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  in  1861,  there  were  living  of  this  family  the  mother,  one 
daughter,  Mrs.  Peyton  Oliver,  and  six  sons — John,  Lemuel,  Mel- 
vin,  Edward,  James  and  William.  The  father  had  passed  away 
several  years  before  and  was  saved  from  sharing  the  trouble  and 
sorrow  of  those  left  behind  brought  on  by  the  dark  and  bloody 
days  of  the  sixties,  but  when  Virginia  seceded  and  called  for 
troops  to  defend  the  South,  five  of  her  sons  and  the  husband  of 
her  only  daughter  were  among  the  first  to  volunteer  their  services. 
John,  Lemuel  and  Edward  were  members  of  Captain  Randolph's 
company  of  the  Forty-ninth  Virginia  regiment,  as  was  also  their 
brother-in-law,  Peyton  Oliver;  James  was  a  scout,  first  for  Gen 
eral  Wade  Hampton  and  afterwards  for  General  M.  C.  Butler, 
having  joined  the  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  Butler's  old 
regiment.  Jim  said  Butler  was  such  a  grand  man  in  battle, 
though  he  (Dulin)  was  a  Virginian  he  just  had  to  join  his 
cavalry.  William,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  joined  the  famous  black 
horse  company  of  cavalry.  Lemuel  was  killed  in  the  first  battle 
of  Manassas,  and  John  died  in  camp  of  fever  at  Manassas  a  short 
time  after.  Edward  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
6th  May,  1864,  and  was  last  seen  by  one  of  his  comrades  sitting 
propped  up  against  a  tree.  It  became  necessary  for  the  regiment 
to  retreat  and  it  was  supposed  that  he  was  captured  and  taken 
to  a  Northern  prison  and  died  there  and  buried  with  the  uniden 
tified.  William  was  shot  down  in  cold  blood  on  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Culpeper  streets  in  Warrenton  by  a  Captain  Farns- 
worth,  of  a  company  in  the  Eighth  Illinois  cavalry.  Several  of 
the  members  of  the  Black  Horse  Cavalry  Avere  surprised  in  War 
renton  and  as  the  odds  were  against  them  they  made  a  dash  to 
escape  capture,  and  rejoined  their  company.  William  Dulin's 


490  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

horse  fell  with  him  and  while  in  a  semi-conscious  condition  from 
the  fall  he  was  immediately  shot  and  mortally  wounded  while 
he  lay  prostrate  upon  the  street  by  Captain  •Farnsworth.  The 
members  of  the  Black  Horse  company  swore  vengeance  against 
this  same  captain,  and  he  was  told  by  Mrs.  James  Catlett,  of 
Catlett  Station,  that  every  member  of  the  company  had  his 
(Farnsworth's)  name  engraved  upon  their  cartridge  boxes,  and 
that  it  would  be  only  a  matter  of  time  until  he  would  meet  his 
fate.  On  the  3rd  day  of  July,  1863,  Farnsworth  led  a  charge  at 
Gettysburg,  wrhere  he  received  a  mortal  wound,  and  before  he 
\vould  surrender  he  deliberately  took  his  own  pistol  and  blew  his 
brains  out,  and  thus  ended  the  brilliant  career  of  this  reckless 
man  who  rose  from  captain  in  the  Eighth  Illinois  to  colonel  of 
the  regiment,  and  then  to  brigadier-general.  When  the  Yankee 
General  Kilpatrick  ordered  him  to  charge  he  was  slow  to  obey, 
and  Kilpatrick  told  him  if  he  did  not  move  at  once  that  he  would 
lead  the  charge  himself,  which  order  nettled  him  and  he  said: 
"Sir,  you  cannot  lead  a  charge  where  I  would  be  afraid  to  go." 
Farnsworth  saw  that  it  was  hell  and  realized  it. 

After  William's  death  Jim  Dulin  was  the  only  one  left  of  the 
six  boys,  as  Melvin  had  died  of  consumption  soon  after  the  death 
of  John  and  Lemuel.  The  mother  had  followed  them  about  two 
years  later.  The  loss  of  her  boys  and  destruction  of  her  property, 
and  the  possibility  of  even  greater  evils  yet  to  come,  was  more 
than  she  could  stand,  and  she  was  laid  beside  those  whom  she  had 
reared  to  be  killed  in  battle  in  defence  of  all  that  was  dear  to 
them  and  every  true  Southerner.  She  died,  however,  with  the 
sweet  satisfaction  that  npt  one  of  her  sons  faltered  when  duty 
called  him.  In  less  than  three  years  a  family  of  eight  members 
had  been  reduced  to  only  two — James  and  his  sister  were  the  only 
survivors.  When  James  heard  of  the  foul  murder  of  his  brother, 
William,  in  Warrenton  he  took  a  solemn  oath  that  he  would  never 
again,  under  any  circumstances,  either  give  or  ask  quarter,  and 
that  he  would  take  a  hundred  lives  to  pay  for  the  life  of  his  mur 
dered  brother,  and  it  was  claimed  by  his  comrades  who  had  his 
confidence  that  he  more  than  fulfilled  his  oath.  Jim  was  the 
handiest  gentleman  I  ever  saw  in  a  rough  and  tumble  fight.  As 
Ed  Wells  says,  Jim  shot  to  kill  and  not  to  wound.  The  Yanks 
that  he  shot  seldom  needed  the  services  of  a  surgeon.  From  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  491 

time  of  the  death  of  his  brother  William,  on  to  the  end  of  the  war, 
his  deeds  of  bravery  were  so  dashing  and  reckless  as  to  often 
merit  the  praise  of  his  chiefs,  the  great  cavalry  leaders,  Hampton 
and  Butler. 

The  last  fight  I  saw  Jim  in  was  at  Cantey's  Farm  on  Lynches 
River,  in  Kershaw  County,  S.  C.,  then  District,  on  the  24th  Feb 
ruary,  1864.  Jim  led  the  charge  and  shot  two  Yankees  before  his 
comrades  could  catch  up  with  him.  The  poor  fellow  was  shot 
through  the  thigh,  as  I  have  already  described  in  a  previous 
chapter.  At  the  close  of  the  war  Jim  returned  home  broken  in 
health,  and  sad  at  heart,  to  find  a  scene  of  desolation  and  ruin, 
where  for  so  many  years  peace,  prosperity  and  happiness  had 
reigned  supreme.  He  had  contracted  lung  trouble  from  so  much 
exposure  to  all  kinds  of  weather  as  a  scout,  and  his  doctor  advised 
a  change  of  climate,  so  with  a  few  hundred  dollars  as  his  share  of 
what  was  realized  from  the  wreck  of  the  once  thriving  plantation, 
he  started  for  Missouri  to  begin  life  anew.  As  he  had  left  school 
at  the  age  of  17  to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of  the  South,  the  first 
thing  he  did  after  reaching  his  destination  was  to  set  about  the 
completion  of  his  education,  and  that  accomplished,  he  then 
taught  in  the  district  schools  and  in  the  high  school  of  Platt  City 
for  a  number  of  years.  On  account  of  his  health  he  then  bought 
a  farm  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  a  Miss  Duncan,  of 
Platt  County,  and  was  quite  prosperous  up  to  the  date  of  his 
death,  in  1876,  brought  on  by  a  sudden  attack  of  pneumonia.  He 
left  a  widow,  one  son  and  two  daughters,  all  living  now,  and  the 
son,  Robert  Melvin  Dulin,  is  the  only  one  to  perpetuate  the  Dulin 
name  in  his  branch  of  the  family. 

The  South  owes  the  name  of  Dulin  a  monument  which  should 
be  placed  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Culpeper  streets,  in  Warren- 
ton,  Va. 

All  of  Butler's  men  fought  well,  for  whenever  danger  had  to 
be  faced  or  duty  to  be  done  at  cost  to  self  his  gallant  boys  in  grey 
drew  inspiration  from  his  cool  deeds,  for  they  all  agreed  there 
was  but  one  Butler.  The  war  over,  his  men  tried  to  be  as  good 
citizens  as  they  had  been  soldiers.  We  were  all  in  the  position  of 
old  Brother  Journegan  in  East  Tennessee  when  Longstreet's  corps 
passed  through  that  section  in  November,  1863.  Upon  reaching 
a  little  town  near  Bristol  they  found  the  people  very  much 


492  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

divided  between  the  Union  and  Confederacy.  Now,  the  Confed 
erates  liked  Brother  Journeygan  almost  as  much  as  the  Union 
people  did,  because  he  was  really  a  good  neighbor,  and  they  told 
Longstreet's  soldiers  that  Brother  Journeygan  would  come  to 
town,  and  when  he  saw  them  he  would  be  apt  to  get  drunk  and 
holler  for  Abe  Lincoln  and  the  flag,  so  they  promised  the  people 
that  they  would  not  hurt  him.  So  when  he  rode  up  and  looked 
at  the  Confederates  they  at  once  arrested  and  court-martialed  him 
and  told  him  to  holler  three  cheers  for  the  Confederacy  and  Jeff 
Davis,  but  he  swore  he  be  d — d  if  he  would  do  it.  So  they  ordered 
out  a  squad  of  men  with  loaded  guns  and  told  him  to  stand  about 
ten  paces  from  the  guns  pointed  at  him.  and  the  officer  in  com 
mand  indicated  that  he  could  obey  the  order  or  be  shot.  So  he 
said,  "Three  cheers  for  the  Confederacy  and  Jeff  Davis  as  things 
now  stand." 

We  are  all  good  Union  people  today  as  things  now  stand. 


BUTLER  AXD  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  493 


PRISON  LIFE 

The  principles  for  which  we  fought  will  never  die. 
Our  cause  was  not  lost. 

The  nation  for  which  we  offered  our  all  is  dead. 
It  died  amid  battle,  its  life  crushed  out  by  overwhelming  num 
bers. 

Its  flag  trailed  not  in  defeat  or  disaster. 

Born  to  save  constitutional  liberty  to  the  South,  it  lived  a  heroic 
struggle  for  independence  and  home  rule — and  died. 
Its  memories  are  its  own. 

None  other  can  appreciate  them  nor  share  them. 
The  total  enlistments  in  the  Yankee  army  were  2,778,304  as 
against  600,000  Confederates. 

Whites  from  the  North 1,777,433 

Whites  from  the  South 316,424 

Foreigners 494,900 

Negroes 186,017 

Indians 3,500 

Thus  it  appears  that  we  fought  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the 
devil. 

South  Carolina  was  the  only  State  in  the  South  that  did  not 
send  an  organized  body  of  men  to  the  Yankee  army. 
Here  is  an  unpublished  order.     (I  have  the  original.) 

H.  Q.  A.  N.  V., 
30th  May,  1864,  8  a.  m. 

GENERAL  :  General  Lee  directs  me  to  say  that  General  Pitz  Lee  has  just 
reported  that  the  force  of  the  enemy  that  was  on  our  left  at  McKenzie's 
corner  yesterday  afternoon  has  withdrawn  by  the  way  it  came  by  Dr. 
Shelton's.  The  general  thinks  the  enemy  is  moving  around  towards  our 
right,  and  desires  that  you  will  push  some  bold  scouting  parties  up  the 
road  in  which  your  command  is  and  endeavor  to  ascertain  which  way  they 
are  going.  You  will  extend  this  information  to  Colonel  Gary  and  request 
him  to  move  up  the  roads  he  occupies,  sending  forward  good  scouting 
parties,  and  try  to  find  out  where  the  enemy  is  crossing.  Use  every  prudent 
means  to  find  out  which  way  the  enemy  are  going. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obt.  servt, 

C.  MARSHALL, 
Brig.  Genl.  Butler,  Comdg.,  etc.  Lt.  Col.  and  A.  D.  C. 


494  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

But  for  Butler's  brigade  at  Trevillian  Station,  Richmond  would 
have  fallen.  The  Yankee  General  Sheridan  said  after  this  battle 
that  he  had  met  Butler's  South  Carolina  brigade,  and  he  hoped 
he  would  never  meet  them  again.  He  had  fought  them  at  Hawe's 
Shop,  28th  May,  1864,  and  Second  Cold  Harbor,  3rd  June,  1864, 
and  Trevillian  llth  and  12th  June,  1864.  One  of  Sheridan's  bri 
gades  charged  Hart's  battery  about  1  o'clock  of  the  first  day's 
fight  at  Trevillian,  and  General  Hampton  took  one  of  Butler's 
regiments  (the  Sixth  Cavalry)  and  routed  them  in  confusion.  He 
emptied  two  saddles  with  his  own  pistol.  In  1901  I  asked  him 
how  many  Yankees  he  had  killed  and  he  said  eleven,  "two  with 
my  sword  and  nine  with  my  pistol."  I  said,  "How  about  the  two 
at  Trevillian  Station?"  "Oh,  well,  I  did  not  count  them,  they 
were  running."  Sheridan  never  met  Butler's  brigade  again,  as 
he  was  sent  to  the  valley,  perhaps  by  his  request,  and  Butler 
remained  with  General  Hampton  on  the  right  of  Lee's  army 
below  Petersburg  until  January,  1865,  when  he  was  ordered  with 
General  Hampton  to  South  Carolina.  Butler's  brigade  had  been 
in  the  saddle  for  about  two  weeks,  fighting  nearly  every  da}^  and 
after  defeating  Sheridan  at  Trevillian  we  had  to  make  a  forced 
march  to  arrest  the  Yankee  General  Wilson's  raid  at  Sapony 
Church  on  the  right  of  our  army.  The  men  were  worn  out  and 
the  horses  were  jaded.  General  Butler  said  to  General  Hampton 
that  the  only  way  to  whip  Wilson  would  be  by  strategy,  and  sug 
gested  that  if  he  could  pick  one  hundred  men  he  would  surprise 
and  rout  Wilson  that  night.  General  Hampton  very  reluctantly 
consented,  and  about  2  o'clock  Butler  with  his  little  Spartan 
band  was  in  Wilson's  rear,  the  rebel  yell  and  the  shots  from  the 
Enfield  rifles  were  too  much  for  Wilson  and  his  three  thousand 
fresh  troops,  who  stampeded  and  were  soon  in  the  rear  of  the 
Yankee  infantry.  When  Butler  and  Wilson  were  major-generals 
in  the  Cuban  War  in  1898  General  Wilson  asked  General  Butler 
how  many  men  he  had  when  he  surprised  him  at  Sapony  Church. 
When  Butler  told  him  100,  Wilson  said,  "For  God's  sake  don't  tell 
it  on  me."  General  Hampton  said  that  Butler  was  the  best  cav 
alry  officer  he  ever  saw.  If  any  general  on  either  side  ever  accom- 
pished  more  with  one  hundred  men  than  Butler  did  at  Sapony 
Church,  I  never  heard  of  it. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  495 

The  total  number  of  Yankee  prisoners  captured  by  the  Confed 
erates  was  270,000  by  the  report  of  Surgeon  General  Barnes,  as 
quoted  by  Ben  Hill  in  his  famous  reply  to  Blaine  as  shown  by  the 
official  records  in  the  War  Department.  The  whole  number  of 
Confederate  prisoners  captured  by  the  Yankees  was  220,000.  At 
once  it  is  seen  that  the  Yankees  were  50,000  more  than  the  Con 
federates.  The  number  of  Yankees  who  died  in  Confederate 
prisons  was  22,576,  and  the  number  of  Confederates  who  died  in 
Yankee  prisons  was  26,436. 

On  the  8th  August,  1864,  General  U.  S.  Grant  sent  a  telegram 
to  Yankee  General  Beast  Butler  as  follows:  "On  the  subject  of 
exchange,  however,  I  differ  with  General  Hitchcock.  It  is  hard 
on  our  men  held  in  Southern  prisons  not  to  release  them,  but  it  is 
humanity  to  those  left  in  the  ranks  to  fight  our  battles.  To  com 
mence  a  system  of  exchange  now  which  liberates  all  prisoners 
taken,  we  will  have  to  fight  on  until  the  whole  South  is  extermin 
ated.  If  we  hold  those  already  caught  they  amount  to  no  more 
than  so  many  dead  men.  At  this  particular  time  to  release  all 
Rebel  prisoners  would  insure  Sherman's  defeat  and  compromise 
our  safety  here." 

What  a  compliment  to  the  Confederate  soldier  from  General 
Grant,  who  did  not  seem  to  mind  having  his  own  men  slaugh 
tered.  Grant  was  a  fighter  without  strategy,  and  that  was  why  he 
was  so  inferior  to  General  R.  E.  Lee.  From  the  30th  of  May  to 
the  3rd  of  June,  1864,  General  Lee  had  our  cavalry  harassing 
Grant's  army,  and  finally  led  him  into  the  trap  Lee  had  set  for 
him  at  Second  Cold  Harbor,  3rd  June,  1864,  when  our  army  killed 
and  wounded  13,000  of  Grant's  army  in  one  hour,  and  the  pris 
oners  our  cavalry  captured  later  in  the  day  told  us  that  Grant 
did  his  best  to  make  his  men  charge  our  lines  again,  but  they 
refused  to  move  and  Grant  withdrew  his  great  army  and  halted 
in  front  of  Petersburg. 

After  abundant  and  indubitable  proofs  the  responsibility  for 
the  suffering  of  prisoners  North  and  South  has  been  laid  upon 
the  authorities  of  the  United  States  Government,  and  there  let  it 
abide  in  history. 

The  cause  of  the  South  could  not  be  better  stated  than  in  Gen 
eral  Order  No.  16,  General  Lee  to  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
which  says : 

32— B.    C. 


496  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"Let  every  soldier  remember  that  on  his  courage  and  fidelity 
depends  all  that  makes  life  worth  living.  The  freedom  of  his 
country,  the  honor  of  his  people  and  the  security  of  his  home." 

I  mean  no  disrespect  in  calling  the  men  who  composed  the 
Northern  army  Yankees.  I  glory  in  the  fact  that  I  was  a  Con 
federate  soldier.  What  a  privilege  it  was  to  fight  under  such  men 
as  M.  C.  Butler,  Wade  Hampton  and  R.  E.  Lee. 


One  of  Butler's  Captains  in  Prison 

At  your  solicitation  I  herewith  give  you  an  account  of  how 
Confederate  officers  were  treated  on  Johnson's  Island.  I  have 
read  your  sketches  of  how  Butler's  scouts  were  treated  at  Point 
Lookout  and  Fort  Delaware.  When  Stuart  started  for  Pennsyl 
vania,  of  course  Butler's  cavalry  was  placed  in  front,  and  after 
riding  a  day  and  a  night  we  arrived  at  Upperville  on  21st  June, 
1863,  and  just  as  we  were  about  to  leave,  General  Stuart  ordered 
a  squadron  of  the  First  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  under  my  com 
mand,  to  dismount  and  hold  a  bridge  just  in  our  front.  We  took 
our  position  behind  a  rock  fence  running  parallel  with  the  creek, 
but  very  near  the  bridge.  The  Yankee  cavalry  soon  approached 
in  large  force  and  attempted  to  cross  the  bridge,  but  the  fire  from 
our  carbines  was  too  much  for  them  and  they  retreated  in  dis 
order,  but  reformed  and  made  a  stubborn  attack  and  were  again 
repulsed.  They  soon  found  fords  above  and  below  the  bridge  and 
began  to  cross. 

I  then  ordered  a  retreat,  and  in  falling  back  several  of  my  men, 
like  myself,  were  severely  wounded  and  captured.  The  Yankees 
carried  us  some  distance  to  the  rear,  where  our  wounds  were 
dressed  by  an  old  surgeon  who  was  very  kind  and  attentive.  We 
were  soon  sent  to  the  railroad  and  in  due  time  were  quartered  in 
the  old  capital,  Washington,  where  I  learned  to  my  disgust  that 
officers  were  not  to  be  exchanged,  and  only  privates  had  that 
honor.  I  have  no  complaint  to  make  as  to  our  treatment.  We 
had  comfortable  quarters  and  good  food.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
it  so,  but  I  soon  learned  the  cause.  Mr.  Wood  was  superintendent. 
He  was  an  old  man  and  a  Virginian.  Captain  White,  his  assis- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  497 

tant,  hated  a  Confederate  more  than  he  did  a  viper.  As  soon  as 
Mr.  Wood  got  an  opportunity  he  said :  "Boys,  I  am  a  true  blue 
Virginian,  too  old  to  go  to  war,  and  thought  I  could  do  some 
good  for  the  boys  in  gray,  and  I  am  going  to  make  all  I  can  out 
of  the  Yanks,  and  I  shall  see  that  you  have  plenty  to  eat  and  these 
d — d  kinky  heads  will  cook  and  wait  on  you." 

When  White  was  present  Old  Man  Wood  acted  like  he  would 
have  been  delighted  to  see  all  hanged.  There  were  some  thirty 
officers  among  the  prisoners.  After  some  days  we  were  notified 
that  the  rest  of  our  prison  days  would  be  spent  on  Johnson's 
Island.  When  we  arrived  there  we  were  permitted  to  bathe  in  the 
lake  only  once.  We  were  conducted  to  our  quarters,  which  were 
known  as  Block  No.  11.  We  were  tired  and  hungry,  having 
nothing  to  eat  on  our  way  from  Washington  to  this  prison  hell, 
which  was  too  horrible  to  describe.  Four  of  us  entered  a  mess  of 
twelve.  Dinner  was  soon  served.  I  inquired:  "Is  this  all  you 
have  to  eat?"  And  the  pale  and  emaciated  prisoners  answered, 
"Yes,  and  you  will  sometimes  have  less  than  this." 

I  don't  think  there  was  a  hound  dog  but  what  would  have 
turned' away  from  it  in  disgust.  We  soon  found  out  that  at  times 
the  fare  was  much  worse.  The  only  delicacy  we  could  get  was 
rats.  Frequently  you  would  see  officers  fishing  in  the  slop  tubs 
for  crumbs,  squeezing  the  water  out  and  eating  them.  I,  together 
with  fifty  or  sixty  other  officers,  occupied  a  room  sixty  feet  long 
with  a  small  office  stove  and  three  pieces  of  green  buckeye  wood 
for  twenty- four  hours.  They  gave  us  one  blanket.  The  space 
between  the  weatherboarding  was  so  large  that  when  there  was  a 
snowdrift  our  blankets  would  be  covered.  A  great  many  officers 
died  for  want  of  food  and  clothing. 

A  Colonel  Pearson  was  in  command  of  the  prison,  and  per 
mitted  sentinels  to  fire  into  our  quarters  at  night  for  their  amuse 
ment,  killing  prisoners  frequently.  We  determined  to  submit  to 
such  barbarity  no  longer.  We  addressed  a  letter  to  Pearson 
informing  him  that  the  next  time  our  quarters  were  fired  into 
that  we  would  break  out  and  kill  every  man,  woman  and  child 
on  the  island — and  this  put  a  stop  to  it. 

ANGUS  P.  BROWN, 
Captain  Co.  K,  1st  S.  C.  Cavalry. 


498  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

On  The  Way  Home 

Augusta,  Ga.,  November  30th.  190T. 
Hon.  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  As  I  have  written  you  of  my  experience  as  a  Con 
federate  prisoner,  and  thinking  my  experience  in  making  my  way 
home  may  be  interesting,  am  writing  you  this.  Brent  and  I  were 
given  transportation  from  Fort  Delaware,  via  Philadelphia,  New 
York  and  Savannah,  to  Albany,  Georgia.  We  went  by  steamer 
to  Philadelphia,  and  were  the  first  to  leave  the  boat  as  we  landed 
there,  and  being  desirous  to  go  back  through  Virginia,  we  hur 
ried  to  the  transportation  office  to  try  and  get  our  transportation 
changed  by  way  of  Richmond,  but  the  provost  marshal  would 
not  accommodate  us,  so  we  walked  out  determined  to  go  the  way 
we  wanted  to  if  Ave  had  to  walk,  which  proved  true  to  a  great 
extent. 

I  put  our  transportation  in  my  pocket,  and  still  have  it.  Prob 
ably  some  day  when  I  am  in  New  York  I  may  yet  have  the 
pleasure  to  ride  home  on  Yankee  transportation.  The  first  thing 
we  did  after  leaving  the  provost  marshal's  office  was  to  hustle 
around  to  try  and  scrape  around  and  get  up  enough  money  to 
take  us  to  Washington  City,  which  we  were  not  long  in  doing. 
I  had  two  dollars  in  cash  and  a  dozen  finger  rings  which  I  had 
made  while  in  prison.  I  had  intended  carrying  them  home  for 
keepsakes,  but  at  that  time  money  was  want  we  needed,  so  I  soon 
disposed  of  them  to  Yankee  girls,  who  were  there  in  abundance. 
I  had  no  idea  they  would  prove  so  valuable,  for  if  I  had  there  is 
no  telling  how  many  I  would  have  had  along.  After  disposing 
of  the  rings  I  then  remembered  a  Dr.  Shipping,  Edward  I  believe 
was  his  given  name,  who  lived  on  Walnut  street.  Finally  I  found 
his  home,  but  he  and  his  wife  had  gone  to  church,  so  I  left  my 
name  and  said  I  would  call  later,  and  just  as  I  was  leaving,  the 
young  lady  who  had  answered  my  call  asked  me  to  wait  a  minute, 
returning  into  the  house  and  soon  returned  accompanied  by  two 
other  ladies.  As  soon  as  they  saw  me  standing  at  the  door,  clad 
in  my  old  gray  uniform — what  then  was  left  of  it — they  clapped 
their  hands  and  exclaimed,  "A  Rebel !"  I  said,  "Don't  get 
excited,  it's  true  I  was  once  one  of  those  things,  but  since  I  have 
been  forced  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  I 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  499 

now  consider  myself  as  good  a  citizen  as  any  one."  They  then 
returned  into  the  house,  returning  in  a  few  minutes  and  one  of 
them  gave  me  two  dollars  in  greenbacks  and  the  other  two  pairs 
of  socks.  I  don't  know  which  I  appreciated  the  most,  the  money 
or  the  socks.  The  money  was  soon  spent,  but  the  socks  lasted  me 
the  rest  of  the  year,  as  I  used  them  only  for  Sunday.  I  thanked 
them  and  left,  going  back  to  the  provost  marshal's  office.  There 
was  a  large  number  standing,  some  sympathizers  and  some  not. 
The  Mrs.  Hill  that  I  have  already  mentioned  was  there  with 
clothing  and  provisions  for  the  South  Carolinians,  and  spoke  to 
us,  saying,  "Boys,  hold  up  year  heads;  I  would  rather  be  a 
whipped  Rebel  any  day  than  a  Yankee." 

While  there  Dr.  Edward  Shipping  had  returned  home,  where 
some  one  had  told  him  I  had  been  there,  so  he  hurried  off  to  look 
me  up ;  some  one  in  the  crowd  pointed  me  out  to  him,  so  he  came 
up  and  touched  me  on  the  shoulder — we  never  having  seen  each 
other — saying  at  the  time  for  me  "to  step  into  an  alley,  as  he 
was  a  very  prominent  Republican  and  could  not  afford  to  be  seen 
talking  to  a  Confederate  soldier."  He  told  me  that  he  had  done 
a  great  deal  for  the  Southern  prisoners,  as  his  wife  was  a 
Southern  woman.  She  was  a  daughter  of  General  David  Twiggs 
of  Georgia.  He  gave  me  five  dollars  and  said  he  would  like  to 
have  me  spend  the  night  with  him,  but  he  was  afraid  his  people 
would  think  he  was  showing  too  much  sympathy  for  the  South. 
He  had  previous  to  this  sent  me  twenty  dollars  while  I  was  in 
prison.  I  thanked  him  and  told  him  I  would  return  him  the 
money  when  I  got  home,  but  this  he  would  not  listen  to. 

I  then  turned  to  look  up  Brent  to  apprise  him  of  my  good 
fortune.  Finally  I  found  him  and  then  we  gave  a  little  boy  five 
cents  to  show  us  the  way  to  the  depot.  On  our  way  the  little  boys 
and  girls  would  flock  around  us  as  negroes  around  a  monkey 
show.  They  almost  tore  what  few  clothes  we  did  have  on  off, 
begging  us  for  rings  and  Confederate  stamps.  Finally  we  did 
get  to  the  depot  and  stepped  into  a  restaurant  to  enquire  when 
the  next  train  left  for  Wilmington,  Delaware.  There  was  a  big 
Dutchman  standing  behind  the  bar,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  us  he 
said,  "Shonny  Rebs,  by  dam !  Come  up  and  have  something  to 
drink !"  We  did  not  wait  for  the  second  invitation,  as  it  had  been 
a  long  time  since  we  had  a  "smile."  He  told  us  there  would  be  no 


500  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

train  going  South  until  6  A.  M.  the  next  morning.  We  then 
began  to  enquire  for  some  place  to  spend  the  night.  He  told  us 
he  could  accommodate  us  if  we  could  put  up  with  his  fare.  In  a 
short  while  five  or  six  Yankee  soldiers  dropped  in,  and  we 
thought  sure  there  was  going  to  be  trouble,  so  we  began  to  get 
on  our  war  paint,  but  instead  of  treating  us  disrespectfully  they 
invited  us  up  to  have  something  to  drink,  which  we  did,  deeming 
this  the  more  prudent  way  than  to  refuse,  so  we  had  several. 
Finally  the  Dutchman  announced  that  supper  was  ready,  which 
we  did  not  fail  to  do  justice  to,  and  after  we  had  finished  he 
showed  us  up  to  our  room.  We  were  not  long  in  getting  to  bed  and 
were  soon  fast  asleep.  I  don't  remember  whether  we  undressed 
or  not.  The  next  morning  we  thought  we  had  overslept  ourselves, 
so  hurried  down  to  find  to  our  delight  that  we  had  plenty  of  time 
to  get  breakfast,  which  we  did.  When  we  offered  to  pay  for  our 
lodging,  etc.,  the  Dutchman  refused  to  take  a  cent.  After  break 
fast  we  secured  tickets  to  Wilmington,  Delaware. 

We  decided  to  lay  over  there  for  a  while,  as  I  was  anxious  to 
see  a  Mr.  J.  D.  Yates,  who  had  been  very  kind  to  me  while  I  was 
in  prison.  He  was  from  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  had  moved  up 
North,  just  before  the  war  began,  for  his  health  and  to  educate  his 
children.  He  had  a  nephew,  Dr.  Joseph  Yates,  who  was  surgeon 
of  my  regiment,  and  as  soon  as  he  heard  what  prison  I  was  con 
fined  in  he  wrote  his  uncle  and  also  sent  me  his  address.  It  turned 
out  he  had  written  his  uncle  to  furnish  me  with  money  and  any 
other  things  that  would  be  acceptable  to  a  prisoner  of  war.  When 
I  found  his  home  he  was  sick,  and  his  physician  had  left  instruc 
tion  for  no  one  to  be  allowed  to  see  him.  As  luck  would  have  it, 
the  doctor  came  in  while  I  was  there  and  found  him  much 
improved.  When  they  told  him  I  was  there  he  sent  for  me  and 
when  he  saw  me  he  seemed  as  glad  to  see  me  as  if  I  had  been  his 
own  son.  I  had  never  seen  him  before  nor  heard  of  him  until  I 
was  captured.  I  remained  there  until  the  next  day,  and  when  I 
left  he  gave  me  five  dollars  and  requested  me  to  write  him  when 
I  got  home.  We  then  bought  tickets  to  Baltimore  and  stopped 
over  there  one  night.  We  found  there  good  Southern  friends 
and  a  plenty  of  them.  The  next  day  we  ran  down  to  Washing 
ton  and  hurried  on  to  get  across  the  Potomac  once  more.  We 
transferred  from  the  depot  by  street  cars  down  to  the  wharf  and 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  501 

there  across  the  river  by  steam  ferryboat  to  Alexandria.  The 
town  was  black  with  Yankees  on  their  way  home.  This  was  in 
the  afternoon.  While  walking  down  the  street  looking  for  some 
place  to  get  something  to  eat,  on  our  way  a  Yankee  stepped  up 
in  front  of  Brent,  halted  him,  taking  out  his  knife  and  cutting  a 
button  from  his  jacket  without  saying  anything  else  and  walked 
off.  Finally  we  found  a  friend  in  a  Mr.  Massey,  who  ran  a 
restaurant.  He  told  us  to  call  for  anything  in  his  place.  He 
would  not  allow  us  to  pay  for  anything,  all  that  he  asked  was  that 
we  would  not  allow  the  Yankees  to  see  that  he  was  doing  any 
thing  for  us,  as  he  was  afraid  they  would  destroy  his  place.  We 
spent  the  night  with  him  and  the  next  morning  caught  the  train, 
but  before  leaving  he  gave  us  a  five- dollar  bill.  We  didn't  go 
very  far  on  our  way  to  Eichmond  on  the  train,  as  the  railroads 
had  been  torn  up.  Sometimes  we  had  to  walk  fifty  miles  in  one 
stretch.  When  we  reached  Fauquier  County,  where  we  were  cap 
tured,  we  spent  around  in  that  neighborhood  about  a  week  with 
the  people  who  had  been  so  kind  to  us  and  so  loyal  to  the  South. 
Of  course  we  hated  very  much  to  leave  them,  but  we  remembered 
that  we  had  loved  ones  at  home,  who  knew  not  whether  we  were 
dead  or  alive,  and  who  were  more  anxious  to  see  us  than  any  one 
else.  We  made  our  way  on  to  Richmond,  walking  most  of  the 
way,  stayed  there  a  day  and  night  and  went  on  to  Petersburg. 
In  passing  through  the  battlefields  some  of  the  graves  were  fresh, 
the  grass  not  having  had  time  to  grow. 

Finally  when  we  got  into  North  Carolina  we  found  that  all  the 
railroads  had  been  torn  up.  Sometimes  we  would  ride  fifty  miles, 
then  have  to  walk  one  hundred.  Very  often  we  would  have  to 
sleep  by  the  roadside  in  the  corner  of  fences  or  anywhere  else 
night  would  catch  us.  Everything  seemed  to  be  destroyed.  On 
these  long  hot  tramps  the  skin  pealed  off  the  soles  of  our  feet,  but 
we  knew  we  must  not  lose  courage,  so  we  kept  on  tramping, 
tramping.  We  tried  to  sing  "Bonnie  Blue  Flag"  and  "Dixie," 
but  the  most  of  the  music  had  been  knocked  out  of  us  and  we 
didn't  make  much  headway.  Sometimes  we  could  hardly  hold 
out  from  one  shade  tree  to  the  other,  but  after  a  while  the  soles 
of  our  feet  began  to  get  hardened  and  we  made  better  time. 
Finally  we  reached  the  line  of  old  South  Carolina,  which,  of 
course,  gave  us  heart,  but  even  when  we  had  gotten  thus  far  the 


502  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

distance  was  oh,  so  long.  What  fools  we  seemed  to  be,  there 
nearly  dead  from  fatigue,  hunger,  etc.,  and  free  transportation  in 
our  pockets,  which  would  have  almost  put  us»on  our  doorsteps. 
But  we  had  accomplished  what  we  set  out  to  do,  and  that  was  to 
get  another  glimpse  of  "brown  eyes  in  old  Virginia." 

All  through  South  Carolina  we  found  conditions  about  the 
same  as  they  had  been  all  along  the  way — everything  destroyed 
and  railroads  torn  up,  bridges  burned,  etc. 

We  only  got  one  horseback  ride  on  our  whole  way,  and  that  was 
on  one  Sunday  we  stopped  at  a  widow  lady's  house  to  get  dinner. 
She  stopped  us  at  the  gate  and  asked  us  if  we  were  "any  of  Mr. 
Wheeler's  men?"  It  was  some  little  time  before  we  could  convince 
her  that  we  did  not  belong  to  Wheeler's  command,  though  finally 
we  did,  and  she  invited  us  in  and  gave  us  dinner.  After  dinner, 
as  we  were  about  to  move  on,  she  told  us  she  would  send  us  as  far 
as  the  river  "if  we  could  ride  on  side-saddles."  We  assured  her 
that  we  could,  so  she  had  two  horses  saddled  and  we  mounted,  she 
sending  a  negro  along  to  bring  the  horses  back.  It  was  about  six 
miles  to  the  river — I  think  it  was  Saluda.  When  we  got  there  we 
found  the  ferryboat  on  the  opposite  side  and  could  not  get  them  to 
come  over  after  us,  so  we  started  down  the  river  hunting  for  a 
batteau.  Finally  we  found  one  and  it  wasn't  long  before  we  were 
gliding  to  the  other  shore. 

I  don't  remember  how  many  days  it  took  us  to  get  to  old  Edge- 
field,  but  we  did  finally  reach  there  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  About 
three  miles  out  we  stopped  at  an  old  gentleman's  to  get  dinner. 
There  was  a  little  girl  out  in  the  yard  churning.  I  asked  her 
where  her  father  was,  and  she,  thinking  we  were  Yankees,  would 
not  tell  us.  Now  that  same  little  girl  is  my  wife,  and  has  been 
for  the  past  thirty  odd  years. 

Finally  the  old  gentleman  came  and  invited  us  to  dinner.  We 
spent  the  night  there  and  the  next  day  he  sent  us  down  to  Ham 
burg,  just  opposite  Augusta.  We  walked  into  Augusta  and  went 
to  the  old  Augusta  Hotel,  stayed  there  a  few  minutes  and  sepa 
rated.  I  have  never  seen  Brent  since.  He  said  he  was  going  to 
Atlanta,  and  if  everything  was  burned  out  there  he  was  going  on 
out  to  Texas.  I  spent  several  days  around  Augusta,  then  made 
my  way  home  down  in  Miller  County,  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  State.  I  went  from  Augusta  to  Albany,  which  was  about 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  503 

fifty  miles  from  my  home.  When  I  got  home  mother  and  father 
had  not  been  there  long,  they  having  been  to  the  depot  and  heard 
that  I  was  dead.  Of  course,  you  can  imagine  their  feelings  when 
I  walked  in.  Yours  truly, 

J.  H.  PIERCE. 


War  is  an  awful  thing — particularly  so  when  the  same  people 
in  the  same  country  are  busily  engaged  for  four  long  years  killing 
each  other — but  with  all  the  bitterness  and  suffering  there  were 
religious  men  in  both  armies  who  by  their  example  made  their 
comrades  cheerful  and  hopeful,  who  were  for  wit  and  fun. 

A  beautiful  Southern  girl,  on  her  daily  mission  of  love  and 
mercy,  asked  a  badly  wounded  soldier  boy  what  she  could  do  for 
him.  He  replied,  "I'm  greatly  obliged  to  you,  but  it  is  too  late 
for  you  to  do  anything  for  me.  I  am  so  badly  shot  that  I  can't 
live  long."  "Will  you  not  let  me  pray  for  you?  I  hope  that  I 
am  one  of  the  Lord's  daughters,  and  I  would  ask  Him  to  help 
you."  Looking  intently  into  her  face,  he  replied,  "Yes,  pray  at 
once,  and  ask  the  Lord  to  let  me  be  his  son-in-law." 

After  the  evacuation  of  Petersburg  in  April,  1865,  when  gloom 
hung  over  the  Confederacy,  some  of  our  generals  gathered 
together  in  a  small  log  hut  and  united  in  prayer  to  Almighty  God 
for  His  guidance.  As  they  assembled  one  of  our  generals  wTas 
riding  in  hailing  distance  and  General  Heth  stepped  to  the  door 
and  called  to  him  to  come  in  and  unite  with  them  in  prayer.  The 
officer  did  not  understand  the  nature  of  the  invitation  and  replied, 
"No,  thank  you,  General,  no  more  at  present;  I've  just  had  some." 
A  private  was  called  on  one  night  to  pray  and  he  said  in  a  clear, 
ringing  voice,  "Oh,  Lord,  we  are  having  a  mighty  big  fight  down 
here  and  a  sight  of  trouble;  and  we  do  hope,  Lord,  that  you  will 
take  a  proper  view  of  this  subject  and  give  us  the  victory." 

We  take  the  following  from  the  graphic  pen  of  Dr.  Henry 
Alexander  White: 

"Winter  poured  down  its  snows  and  its  sleets  upon  Lee's  shelter 
less  men  in  the  trenches.  Some  of  them  burrowed  into  the  earth. 
Most  of  them  shivered  over  the  feeble  fires  kept  burning  along  the 
lines.  Scanty  and  thin  were  the  garments  of  these  heroes.  Most 
of  them  were  clad  in  mere  rags.  Gaunt  famine  oppressed  them 


504  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

every  hour.  One-quarter  of  a  pound  of  rancid  bacon  and  a  little 
meal  was  the  daily  portion  assigned  to  each  man  by  the  rules  of 
the  War  Department.  But  even  this  allowance  failed  when  the 
railroads  broke  down  and  left  the  bacon  and  flour  and  the 
meal  piled  up  beside  the  tracks  in  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas. 
One-sixth  of  this  daily  ration  was  the  allotment  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  very  often  the  supply  of  bacon  failed  entirely.  With 
dauntless  hearts  these  gaunt- faced  men  endured  the  almost  cease 
less  fire  of  Grant's  mortar  batteries.  The  frozen  fingers  of  Lee's 
army  of  sharpshooters  clutched  the  musket  barrel  with  an  aim 
so  steady  that  Grant's  men  scarcely  lifted  their  heads  from  their 
bomb-proofs. 

"All  lost !  but  by  the  graves, 

Where  martyred  heroes  rest, 
He  wins  the  most  who  honor  saves — 
Success  is  not  the  test." 


Butler's  Scouts  in  Yankee  Prisons 

Butler's  scouts  in  Yankee  prisons,  as  I  remember  them:  Newt. 
Fowles,  Wallace  Miller,  Jim  Dulin,  John  H.  Pierce,  Sol  Legare, 
Bill  Turner,  Walker  Russell,  Shake  Harris  and  others. 

On  the  12th  November,  1864,  Wallace  Miller  was  captured  and 
was  carried  to  City  Point  and  kept  in  close  confinement  for  about 
two  weeks,  when  he  was  sent  to  Point  Lookout.  Fortunately  for 
the  scouts  they  always  managed  to  have  a  few  greenbacks  sewed 
up  in  their  underclothes — as  to  where  they  got  the  money  was 
their  business.  Several  of  Butler's  scouts  bought  the  Yankee 
doctors.  Newt.  Fowles  paid  a  Yankee  doctor  fifty  dollars  to  let 
him  out.  After  the  war  he  met  this  same  doctor  right  here  on 
the  streets  of  Columbia,  but,  of  course,  they  were  like  the  old 
fellow  was  when  his  bull  hooked  him,  they  would  pass  and  repass, 
but  never  spoke  again.  The  bull,  like  the  doctor,  was  for  sale. 

Bill  Turner  gave  a  Yankee  doctor  ten  dollars  to  let  him  out. 
An  exchanged  prisoner  died  and  the  doctor  marked  Bill  Turner 
dead,  and  Bill  was  released  in  the  dead  man's  name.  One  night 
in  November,  1864,  in  Virginia,  I  was  sleeping  on  the  ground 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  505 

with  Jesse  Hart,  and  just  before  day  Bill  Turner  got  under  the 
blanket  with  us.  We  were  delighted  to  see  him,  and  the  first 
thing  he  said  was,  "Boys,  never  surrender,"  and  then  proceeded 
to  tell  of  the  horrors  of  prison  life,  which  so  impressed  me  that 
I  have  really  never  surrendered.  On  the  25th  April,  1865,  Gen 
eral  Butler  started  me  home  with  his  horses  and  Johnston  sur 
rendered  the  next  day,  and  no  one  has  asked  me  to  surrender, 
and  it  is  too  late  now  to  entertain  the  idea  of  such  a  thing — in 
fact,  I  don't  want  to  surrender,  and  I  am  sorry  that  any  Confed 
erate  had  to  surrender. 

r 

Jim  Dulin  was  captured  twice,  and  being  a  very  slick  proposi 
tion,  they  could  not  hold  him.  Jim  always  had  United  States  cur 
rency  somewhere  concealed  about  his  person  and  lived  better  in 
prison  than  some  others,  who  died  for  the  want  of  proper  nour 
ishment.  A  fellow  prisoner  was,  in  the  spring  of  1864,  booked  to 
be  exchanged,  and  Jim  fixed  the  doctor  and  paid  the  prisoner  one 
thousand  dollars  in  Confederate  money  that  he  borrowed  from 
Newt.  Fowles,  to  let  him  take  his  place.  The  poor  prisoner  said, 
"Mr.  Dulin,  will  you  please  take  this  thousand  dollars  home  to 
my  wife  and  children,  they  are  starving?"  When  Jim  placed  the 
money  in  the  poor  woman's  hands  she  had  no  further  trouble 
in  keeping  the  wolf  from  the  door. 

One  rainy  morning,  24th  February,  1865,  at  Cantey's  Farm,  on 
Lynche's  creek,  Jim  Dulin,  who  was  quite  handy  with  his  pistol, 
came  galloping  up  on  his  little  horse  and  reported  to  General 
Butler  that  about  200  Yankee  infantry  foragers  were  engaged  in 
pillaging  Mr.  Cantey's  house  and  outbuildings  preparatory  to 
applying  the  torch.  "They  have  stacked  arms,"  said  Dulin. 
General  Butler  ordered  Colonel  Eutledge  to  take  the  remnant  of 
his  regiment,  the  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  and  bag  the 
last  one  of  them.  Dulin  rode  beside  Colonel  Rutledge. 

In  the  language  of  Ed.  Wells:  "Dulin  was  a  rather  small 
person,  inoffensive  in  appearance,  light  in  weight  and  wiry,  but 
not  athletic  in  build.  His  manners  were  excellent  and  the  tones 
of  his  voice  habitually  gentle.  But  he  was  like  a  bloodhound  on 
the  trail  of  human  blood,  and  a  very  devil  in  action,  a  wonderful 
pistol  shot,  seldom  missing  even  when  at  full  speed. 

"When  Rutledge  shouted  charge,  the  Fourth  made  quick,  clean 
work.  But,  as  for  Dulin,  like  a  tiger  on  his  prey,  horse  and  rider 


506  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

sprang  among  them  and  as  rapidly  as  you  could  fire  a  'right  and 
left'  at  partridges,  two  bummers  lay  dead  (he  had  a  knack  of 
killing,  not  wounding).  He  scored  a  third  just  afterwards,  and 
more  for  aught  I  know." 

Jim  Dulin  was  shot  in  the  thigh  and  rode  in  one  of  Butler's 
captured  wagons  to  Cheraw,  S.  C.,  where  he  met  his  old  chum 
and  fellow  scout,  Newt.  Fowles,  who  had  just  bought  his  way  out 
of  prison  as  above  described;  paid  Newt.  Fowles  back  the  money 
he  borrowed  from  him  with  which  to  pay  his  way  out  of  prison, 
and  swapped  his  little  black  horse  for  a  mule  and  bought  a  buggy. 
He  and  his  friend  Fowles  put  one  end  of  a  short  plank  under  the 
cushion  and  put  the  other  end  on  the  dashboard  of  the  buggy 
in  order  for  Jim  to  rest  his  wounded  leg.  So  off  they  started  for 
Greensboro,  N.  C.,  to  put  Jim  on  the  train  to  go  back  to  his 
desecrated  home  in  Fauquier  County,  Va.  When  they  had  gone 
about  six  miles  from  Cheraw  the  mule  proved  to  be  a  mule  by 
getting  stubborn,  so  they  traded  the  mule  off  to  Mr.  Pegues  for 
one  of  his  carriage  horses,  a  big  gray.  At  Greensboro,  Newt. 
Fowles  put  his  friend  on  board  the  cars  and  with  an  affectionate 
good-bye  they  parted  never  to  meet  again. 


One  of  Butler's  Scouts  at  Point  Lookout 

The  half  will  never  be  told — certain  horrors  cannot  be  printed. 

On  the  12th  November,  1864,  one  of  Butler's  scouts  was  cap 
tured  by  a  party  of  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  in  Prince 
George  County,  Va.,  in  rear  of  the  Yankee  army,  was  taken  to 
headquarters  of  Colonel  Irwain,  when  he  was  closely  questioned 
in  regard  to  the  condition  of  Lee's  army  around  Petersburg. 

The  colonel  asked  the  prisoner  if  the  soldiers  of  Lee's  army 
were  not  starving,  and  replied,  "Do  I  look  like  I  am  starving?" 
The  colonel  said,  "You  are  an  officer  are  you  not?"  "No,  I  am  a 
private."  The  prisoner  was  sent  to  headquarters  that  night  and 
next  day  in  company  with  Pat  Sanders,  a  fellow  scout  from  But 
ler's  brigade,  and  Bill  Jackson,  another  scout  from  a  Tennessee 
infantry.  This  trio  were  sent  to  City  Point,  where  they  were  kept 
for  ten  days  in  the  prison  with  a  set  of  deserters  from  both  armies, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  507 

bounty  jumpers  and  niggers.  The  Yankee  government  would 
give  any  man  one  thousand  dollars  to  join  their  army,  and  these 
Hessians  could  desert,  disguise  themselves  and  go  to  another  part 
of  their  army  and  sell  out  again.  Butler's  scouts  captured  one 
of  these  "bounty  jumpers"  and  he  said  he  had  jumped  sixteen 
bounties.  Grant  had  two  picket  lines  to  keep  up  all  the  time — 
the  one  in  front  of  his  army  to  warn  him  of  the  approach  of  the 
Confederates,  and  the  other  in  the  rear  of  his  army  to  keep  his 
men  from  deserting.  They  were  very  tired  of  the  war. 

On  the  23rd  of  November,  1864,  these  three  scouts  were  placed 
on  a  steamer  and  sent  to  Point  Lookout,  Md.,  where  they  arrived 
the  next  day  and  claimed  to  belong  to  other  commands  than  their 
own,  for  fear  they  would  be  charged  with  being  scouts.  After 
getting  penned  and  settled  down  to  the  real  horrors  of  prison  life, 
they  gave  their  names  and  commands  in  order  to  receive  letters 
from  home.  They  were  assigned  to  the  Sixth  Division  in  the 
prison  camp  and  about  fifteen  were  given  quarters  in  a  sibley  tent, 
where  they  had  to  lie  on  the  cold,  damp  ground  without  a  spark 
of  fire  unless  they  could  steal  wood  from  some  of  the  guards  of 
this  damnable  place  of  abode.  The  guards  were  composed  of 
insolent  negroes,  who  did  not  hesitate  to  fire  into  a  tent  if  the 
light  was  not  put  out  exactly  when  taps  were  sounded,  without 
giving  any  warning  whatever.  In  fact,  their  conduct  was  so  out 
rageous  in  the  latter  part  of  the  war  that  forbearance  had  ceased 
to  be  a  virtue,  when  the  prisoners  sent  a  delegation,  among  whom 
were  scouts,  to  the  general  commanding  (General  Barnes)  saying 
they  would  not  stand  the  treatment  any  longer.  Of  course,  he  had 
it  in  his  power  to  have  them  all  shot,  but  some  of  Barnes'  people 
would  get  hurt  during  the  killing.  The  negroes  were  soon  dis 
placed  and  white  men  put  on  duty  in  their  stead. 

The  drinking  water  was  terrible  and  was  procured  from  shal 
low  wells  inside  the  prison  camp,  so  strongly  permeated  with 
copperas  that  it  caused  a  frightful  mortality  among  these  brave 
but  unfortunate  men  of  Lee's  army.  It  was  a  very  usual  occur 
rence  to  have  fifty  dead  Confederates  hauled  out  to  the  boneyard 
in  one  day.  There  was  only  one  good  well  of  water  in  the  prison, 
and  only  a  fortunate  few  were  able  to  obtain  water  from  it,  and 
then  by  a  written  order  countersigned  in  red  ink.  Sometimes 
the  prisoners  would  forge  a  permit  by  scratching  the  arm  until 


508  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  blood  would  flow  from  their  pale  and  emaciated  bodies  to 
countersign  the  pass,  so  the  writing  was  literally  done  in  blood. 
The  Yankees  had  the  finest  kind  of  food,  the*  land  was  flooded 
with  milk  and  honey,  but  there  was  scarcely  enough  dished  out 
to  the  unfortunate  men  clad  in  gray  to  keep  soul  and  body 
together.  The  food  was  of  the  worst  quality  and  not  half  enough 
to  supply  the  cravings  of  hunger.  Often  they  would  issue  codfish 
that  was  so  rotten  that  it  would  drop  to  pieces  while  handling  it, 
and  no  bread  was  issued  from  Saturday  noon  until  Monday  noon. 
The  horrors  of  that  place  will  never  be  fully  described.  Shake 
Harris  had  two  very  thin  blankets  sewed  together.  He  drew  an 
extra  one  by  putting  the  first  one  in  the  ground  and  claiming  that 
the  first  one  was  lost.  Whenever  the  guard  would  catch  a  prisoner 
with  two  of  these  little  thin  blankets  sewed  together  they  would 
cut  them  apart,  keeping  one  and  leaving  the  other  to  the  poor 
prisoner  to  partially  cover  the  old  gray  clothes  that  he  happened 
to  have  on  when  captured.  If  a  prisoner  had  a  friend  who  would 
send  him  a  little  money  with  which  to  buy  something  to  eat,  and 
some  poor,  half-perished  devil  were  to  steal  some  of  it  and  was 
caught,  his  fellow  prisoners  would  immediately  turn  his  head 
down  into  a  slop  barrel,  where  he  was  turned  into  an  honest  but 
much  more  ravenous  man.  Two  of  Butler's  scouts  were  very  fond 
of  tobacco.  One  would  chew  it  and  then  dry  it  and  the  other 
would  smoke  it.  There  was  no  place  that  one  could  go  in  the 
prison  pen  where  he  could  avoid  vermin.  The  prisoners  had  to 
have  some  kind  of  employment,  some  made  rings  of  gutta  percha, 
buttons  and  beef  bones.  One  prisoner  made  a  small  engine  and  a 
train  of  cars  out  of  broken  camp  kettles,  and  built  a  railroad 
track  upon  which  the  little  train  would  run.  General  Barnes 
allowed  this  ingenious  prisoner  to  receive  forty  dollars  for  the 
outfit,  which  amount  lifted  him  out  of  the  suffering  of  his  fellow 
prisoners,  who  were  too  honest  to  steal,  too  proud  to  beg,  for  they 
belonged  to  the  shabby  genteel,  especially  after  a  few  of  them  had 
been  put  head  foremost  into  slop  barrels. 

Rats  were  found  to  be  very  fine  food  for  the  prisoners.  They 
were  tender  and  very  delicious. 

John  H.  Pierce  was  captured  in  February,  1864,  together  with 
two  other  scouts,  and  carried  to  Washington,  where  they  were 
kept  for  four  months  and  then  taken  to  Fort  Delaware  and  held 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  509 

there  until  the  10th  June,  1865.  John  Pierce  belonged  to  Captain 
Angus  P.  Brown's  company,  Company  K,  First  South  Carolina 
Cavalry.  He  scouted  under  Bob  Shiver,  Bill  Mikler,  Shadbourn 
and  Dick  Hogan,  and  a  brave  scout  he  was,  too. 

Hal.  Richardson  belonged  to  Company  K,  Fourth  South  Caro 
lina  Cavalry,  and  was  captured  on  the  30th  May,  1864,  near  Cold 
Harbor,  and  together  with  other  prisoners  was  made  to  double 
quick  nearly  all  the  way  to  the  White  House,  a  distance  of  thirty 
miles.  When  a  prisoner  would  break  down  the  Yankees  would 
stick  a  bayonet  in  him  and  if  he  failed  to  respond  he  was  left  for 
dead.  The  cause  of  this  forced  march  was  that  some  one  said 
Hampton  and  Butler  were  coming. 

"Man's  inhumanity  to  man  makes  countless  thousands  mourn." 


Prison  Experience  of  W.  W.  Russell 

Anderson,  S.  C.,  October  22,  1907. 
Colonel  U.  R.  Brooks,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

MY  DEAR  COLONEL:  Yours  of  the  16th  to  hand,  and  I  take 
great  pleasure  in  complying  with "  your  request.  The  escapade 
referred  to  is  as  follows: 

I  was  captured  at  Proctor's  Cross  Roads,  on  the  Jerusalem 
Plank  Road,  October  27th,  1864,  by  the  Thirteenth  Pennsylvania 
Cavalry,  and  was  carried  to  Point  Lookout  prison  and  held  there 
until  April  18th,  1865.  I  paid  the  commanding  officer  of  the  prison 
one  box  of  tobacco,  value  $75.00,  and  three  $20  gold  pieces  to  put 
me  in  with  a  boatload  of  sick  that  were  then  being  exchanged. 
I  may  say  that  my  first  effort  to  get  out  of  prison  was  a  failure 
(although  successful).  In  explanation  of  this  seeming  contradic 
tion,  it  is  necessary  to  state  that  I  succeeded  in  having  the  captain 
take  the  bait  offered ;  but  he  himself  was  unsuccessful  in  securing 
my  escape,  because  opposite  my  name  on  the  roster  was  written 
"Hold — suspicious."  However,  being  posted,  I  went  higher  and 
succeeded. 

My  return  on  the  U.  S.  S.  "Starlight"  to  Richmond,  Va.,  was 
both  pathetic  and  exciting.  McClure  and  myself  had  been  sent  to 
Norfolk,  Va.,  to  locate  the  position  of  General  Dix,  who  com- 


510  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

manded  that  department  of  Virginia.  I  could  not  undertake 
active  duty,  as  I  was  suffering  from  wounds  received  on  the  cattle 
raid  September  16th,  hence  my  duty  was  to  ca^ry  reports  of  our 
findings  to  headquarters.  After  McClure  and  myself  had  located 
all  the  camps  of  the  enemy  between  Suffolk  and  Norfolk,  had 
learned  the  position  of  the  artillery,  and  had  prepared  our 
reports,  together  with  drawings  of  the  location  of  General  Dix's 
headquarters,  we  started  to  ride  through  to  Petersburg,  one  hun 
dred  miles,  in  a  day.  But  we  had  relay  horses  at  the  fifty-mile 
post,  and  were  able  to  make  Proctor's  Cross  Roads  (ninety  miles), 
where  the  Thirteenth  Virginia  cavalry  were  out  on  post  duty. 
Dr.  Taggart,  who  lived  within  four  hundred  yards  of  the  picket 
post,  informed  us  that  the  Thirteenth  Virginia  cavalry  was  on 
picket  at  the  Cross  Roads,  not  knowing  that  the  Confederate 
cavalry  had  been  driven  off  by  the  Thirteenth  Pennsylvania  Cav 
alry  at  nightfall.  All  was  quiet  as  we  approached.  Suddenly  we 
were  ordered  to  halt — "Who  comes  there?"  To  our  reply  of 
"Friends,"  the  picket  commanded,  "Advance,  friends,  and  give 
the  countersign!"  McClure  advanced,  but  I  was  too  far  to  hear 
what  was  taking  place.  Then  I  was  ordered  to  advance,  and  I 
did  so,  confident  that  I  was  safe  in  the  hands  of  friends,  and  that 
I  would  now  be  able  to  rest  from  my  long  and  tedious  ride  of 
ninety  miles.  Imagine  my  surprise  when  I  was  told  to  give  up 
my  arms !  This  I  indignantly  refused  to  do,  demanding  that  I 
be  carried  back  to  the  reserve,  where  I  could  easily  identify 
myself.  But  when  carbines  were  pressed  against  my  breast,  I 
gave  up  my  pistols,  though  taking  care  to  impress  upon  them  that, 
since  this  was  not  the  firs,t  time  I  had  been  arrested  by  my  own 
men  when  I  was  coming  in  from  outer  lines,  I  fully  intended 
reporting  the  matter  to  General  Hampton.  About  this  time  we 
arrived  at  the  head  of  the  column,  and  I,  being  unable  to  recog 
nize  them  in  the  dark,  said  to  them,  "I  believe  you  are  Yankees ! 
What  command  is  this?"  Swiftly  the  reply  came,  "The  Thir 
teenth  Pennsylvania."  The  mystery  was  explained,  and  my 
indignation  quickly  vanished  to  be  replaced  by  a  much  deeper  and 
stronger  feeling.  I  had  thought  up  to  this  time  that  we  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  Thirteenth  Virginia  Cavalry,  as  the  picket  had 
told  us  that  it  was  the  "Thirteenth,"  without  indicating  that  it 
was  the  Pennsylvania  cavalry.  You  can  imagine  that  my  feelings 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  511 

were  not  very  self-congratulatory,  as  here  I  was  disarmed,  with 
nothing  to  defend  myself  with,  a  predicament  in  which  I  had 
boastingly  said  I  would  die  before  I  would  allow  myself  to  be 
placed.  This  was  especially  embarrassing  to  me,  as  I  had  been 
compelled  to  surrender  without  a  shot,  particularly  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  not  long  before  this  Wallace  Miller,  Bernard  King  and 
myself  had  refused  to  surrender  when  we  were  surrounded  in  a 
house  in  the  midst  of  Grant's  army  and  had  gotten  out  alive. 
So  galling  was  this  to  my  rebel  pride  that  I  appealed  to  the 
colonel  of  the  Pennsylvania  regiment  in  this  wise:  "This  affair 
looks  like  desertion  of  a  cause  very  dear  to  my  heart.  Won't  you 
do  me  the  honor  of  restoring  my  pistols  and  give  me  ten  paces, 
when  I  will  defy  the  world?  If  I  should  die,  I  will  die  as  a 
Confederate  should."  To  this  appeal  the  colonel  rode  up  to  me, 
struck  a  match  to  see  my  face,  and  replied,  "This  would  be 
foolish." 

Our  horses  were  tied  together  with  halter  reins,  our  bridles 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  guards,  fifteen  in  number,  with  drawn 
sabres,  and  orders  were  issued  to  carry  us  to  camp  ten  miles  off, 
not  a  word  to  be  spoken  en  route.  If  we  had  not  been  touching 
bottom  in  regret  and  disgust,  we  would  have  felt  complimented 
by  the  strength  of  our  guard.  The  orders  given  were  strictly 
obeyed,  but  after  riding  some  five  miles,  the  lieutenant  in  com 
mand  allowed  his  Yankee  instincts  to  get  the  better  of  him  and 
began  making  an  effort  to  satisfy  his  curiosity  by  asking  me  the 
name  of  my  command.  I  replied  by  an  outburst  of  crying,  at  the 
same  time  stealthily  putting  my  left  hand  into  my  coat  pocket  and 
taking  out  the  papers  that  would  be  the  occasion  of  a  speedy 
death  to  me  if  they  were  apprehended.  Between  my  sobs  I  man 
aged  to  chew  and  spit  to  the  ground  every  particle  of  evidence 
against  both  of  us.  But  the  commanding  officer  did  not  "catch 
on"  to  my  little  ruse  and  witheringly  remarked  that  he  thought 
we  were  soldiers  and  not  children!  and  threatened  to  use  his 
sword  if  I  did  not  cease  the  baby  act.  But  the  spectacle  I  had  had 
to  make  of  myself  was  atoned  for  by  the  fact  that  I  had  succeeded 
in  wiping  out  the  danger  of  being  shot  by  drumhead  court- 
martial. 

This  is  in  brief  a  partial  history  of  my  capture.  There  is,  how- 
over,  an  interesting  story  connected  with  our  imprisonment.  We 

33— B.    C. 


512  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

could  not  be  located  by  the  enemy,  and  were  carried  first  to  Major- 
General  Gregg,  then  to  General  Meade's  headquarters,  and  from 
there  were  taken  to  City  Point  and  placed  in.  close  confinement, 
where  our  only  associates  were  Federal  soldiers  under  sentence  of 
death,  a  very  disquieting  matter  to  us  when  we  did  not  know  our 
fate.  A  very  few  days  later,  after  another  investigation  by  the 
authorities,  we  were  placed  oh  board  the  steamship  Champion, 
together  with  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  other  Confederates 
who  had  been  stationed  at  Dutch  Gap  (this  being  dug  by  General 
B.  F.  Butler),  and  carried  to  Point  Lookout  prison.  En  route  we 
organized  and  came  very  near  capturing  the  vessel,  but  were 
thwarted  by  a  Confederate  who  gave  us  away.  Incidentally  this 
plan  came  so  near  being  a  success  that  a  party  came  to  Anderson 
some  two  or  three  years  after  the  war,  hunted  up  Colonel 
James  A.  Hoyt,  and  the  two  came  to  see  me  to  get  facts  for  his 
tory.  Of  course,  at  that  time  I  had  to  deny  all  knowledge  of  the 
affair,  but  afterwards  told  Colonel  Hoyt  the  particulars.  Hoyt 
believed  there  was  no  danger  in  revealing  everything  for  the  sake 
of  true  history.  Later  another  party  came  to  see  me,  who  hailed 
from  Ohio.  Still  I  gave  out  nothing. 

While  at  Point  Lookout  we  organized  a  regiment  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  Government,  when  wre 
were  to  go  north  of  the  Susquehanna  River  to  fight  Indians — 
when  in  reality  we  intended  to  beat,  if  possible,  the  record  of 
Stewart,  Hampton,  Forrest  or  Morgan  in  the  raiding  of  the 
enemy's  country.  When  the  time  arrived  to  take  the  oath,  how 
ever,  all  of  us  who  were  leaders  in  the  movement  hesitated  and 
could  not  swallow  the  oath;  besides  McClure  and  myself  were 
suspected  and  were  to  be  left  out. 

This  whole  story,  if  written  out  in  its  entirety,  would  be  inter 
esting  to  all  the  old  Confederates,  especially  to  the  boys  who 
know  us. 

I  will  send  you  photograph  soon,  which  you  will  kindly  return 
when  you  have  finished  with  it. 

Yours  most  truly, 

W.  W.  RUSSELL. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  513 

Forty-Nine  Thousand  Die  in  Prison 

Sol  Legare  was  a  splendid  fellow,  gentle,  courteous  and  brave. 
He  could  not  stand  the  hard  prison  life  of  the  Yankees,  which 
caused  the  death  of  twenty-six  thousand  of  the  flower  of  the 
Confederate  army.  His  friend  and  fellow  scout,  Wallace  Miller, 
was  allowed  to  nurse  him,  and  he  did  well  and  faithfully,  but  in 
July,  1865,  after  Lee's  army  had  reached  Appomattox,  the  war 
rior's  banner  took  its  flight  to  greet  the  warrior's  soul.  His  ear 
was  deaf  to  earth's  rude  alarms,  and  the  weary  spirit  peacefully 
departed  to  its  eternal  rest.  In  1868  Miller  went  to  the  old  prison 
burial  ground  in  Maryland  and  brought  his  remains  back  to 
Charleston,  S.  C. 

The  Confederate  soldiers  captured  two  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  Yankees,  and  twenty-three  thousand  of  these  died  in  our 
prisons.  The  Yankees  captured  two  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  Confederates,  and  twenty-six  thousand  died  in  Northern 
prisons.  (See  War  Records  at  Washington,  D.  C.)  General 
Grant  would  not  exchange  prisoners  and  gave  his  reason  that 
to  turn  loose  two  hundred  thousand  Rebel  soldiers  at  one  time, 
Sherman's  army  would  be  destroyed  and  his  own  would  be  in 
great  danger.  He  knew  that  General  Lee  could  have  easily 
destroyed  his  army  had  he  (Grant)  agreed  to  exchange  prisoners. 

After  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  the  Yankees  would  beg  the  pris 
oners  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  but  they  positively  refused  to 
do  so  until  they  received  letters  from  the  people,  their  friends 
all  over  the  South,  to  take  the  oath,  that  the  war  was  really  over. 
A  Yankee  asked  two  prisoners  after  they  had  taken  the  oath  to 
take  a  drink  of  whiskey  with  him,  and  one  of  them  drank  to  this 
toast,  "Here  is  to  my  fallen  country,  whom  it  is  treason  to  love 
and  death  to  defend." 

"God  holds  the  scales  of  justice; 

He  will  measure  praise  and  blame; 

And  the  South  will  stand  the  verdict, 

And  will  stand  it  without  shame." 


514  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Recollections  of  Andersonville 

BY  HENRY  A.  WHITMAN.   • 

In  the  summer  of  1864,  when  I  was  a  temporary  resident  of 
Cuthbert,  Ga.,  I  went  up  by  train  early  one  morning  to  Ander 
sonville,  where  I  spent  the  whole  day  looking  over  its  military 
prison,  about  which  so  much  since  then  has  been  said  and  written. 
I  was  accompanied  by  a  New  Jerseyman,  who  expected  to  obtain 
through  prisoners  there  some  news  of  his  Northern  relatives, 
from  whom  he  had  not  heard  since  the  commencement  of  the  war. 
The  visit  was  made  in  August,  but  I  have  forgotten  on  what  day 
of  the  month.  I  remember,  however,  that  it  was  hot  and  sultry 
weather,  and  that  the  journey,  though  a  short  one,  was  made  all 
the  more  uncomfortable  to  us  by  having  to  be  packed  into  a 
crowded,  stuffy,  rickety  car  that,  with  occasional  wild  lurches, 
justled  and  bumped  slowly  over  worn-out  rails  to  the  imminent 
risk  of  life  and  limb.  In  those  days  all  the  railroads  of  the 
South  were  fearfully  run  down  at  the  heel,  and  traveling  over 
them  was  both  fatiguing  and  dangerous.  We  were  over  two 
hours  in  getting  to  Andersonville,  at  that  time  a  bit  of  a  village 
of  some  half-dozen  houses,  near  which,  about  five  hundred  yards 
east  of  the  depot,  was  located  the  prison. 

I  hardly  know  what  I  had  imagined  the  prison  to  look  like.  It 
certainly  differed  from  anything  my  fancy  may  have  pictured. 
Perhaps  I  had  anticipated  seeing  a  huge  building  of  brick  and 
stone  in  the  middle  of  a  vast  courtyard  surrounded  by  high, 
unscalable  walls,  on  top  of  which  would  be  sentinels  pacing  to 
and  fro  with  measured  military  tread.  If  imagination  tricked 
me  into  expecting  such  a  prison,  I  was  painfully  disillusioned 
and  disappointed.  What  I  really  saw  was  a  great  stockade  com 
posed  of  two  parallel  palisades  of  pine  logs  set  in  the  ground 
endwise  to  the  height  of  eighteen  feet.  It  enclosed  some  thirty 
acres  of  yellow-clay  land  lying  on  two  hillsides  facing  each  other, 
between  which  ran,  from  east  to  west,  a  small  creek  about  five 
feet  broad  with  an  average  depth  of  a  foot. 

The  only  signs  of  vegetation  that  I  saw  within  the  enclosure 
were  two  tall,  lonely  pines  with  tufted  tops,  one  on  either  hill; 
but  they  gave  precious  little  shade  to  the  crowded  prisoners, 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  515 

thirty-two  thousand  or  more,  that  sweltered  beneath  the  hot  rays 
of  an  August  sun.  Their  only  protection  from  the  weather — hot 
or  cold,  rain  or  sunshine — were  some  rough  sheds,  open  at  the 
sides,  but  covered  on  top  with  planks  and  pine  boughs.  Besides 
these,  I  noticed  a  few  old  army  tents,  also  blankets  stretched  over 
poles  gypsy  fashion.  Some  of  the  prisoners,  who  possessed  neither 
tents  nor  blankets,  had  apparently  made  excavations  in  the  hill 
sides,  where  they  probably  slept  or  protected  themselves  against 
the  heat  of  the  sun.  I  say  apparently,  for  as  I  was  outside  the 
stockade  and  some  distance  away,  it  may  be  that  what  I  thought 
were  excavations  for  the  purpose  of  protection,  were  nothing 
more  than  places  where  the  prisoners  did  their  cooking. 

The  nearest  approach  to  my  fancied  prison  were  the  sentinels, 
whom  I  found  stationed  on  a  high  platform  built  on  the  four 
sides  of  the  stockade  between  the  palisades  and  next  to  the  inner 
one,  thus  affording  them  an  unobstructed  view  of  all  that  went  on 
in  the  enclosure.  Here  also,  at  intervals  of  a  hundred  or  more 
feet,  were  sentry  boxes,  between  which  the  guards  on  duty 
marched  back  and  forth,  and  to  which  they  retired  in  time  of  bad 
weather. 

The  "dead  line,"  a  small  railing  eighteen  inches  high,  was 
placed  about  nineteen  feet  from  the  inner  wall  on  all  sides  of 
the  stockade.  Prisoners  were  not  allowed  to  cross  it.  The  guards 
were  under  orders  to  shoot  down  any  prisoner  attempting  to  do 
so  without  permission,  and  of  these  orders  the  prisoners  were 
fully  informed. 

On  the  high  ground  surrounding  the  enclosure,  which,  by  the 
way,  was  six  hundred  yards  long  by  over  two  hundred  wide,  was 
a  cordon  of  connected  earthworks  where  fifteen  or  twenty  pieces 
of  artillery  were  placed,  being  trained  on  the  stockade  and  ready 
for  instant  service  in  time  of  need.  Back  of  the  earthworks  were 
the  quarters  of  the  guards,  which  were  simply  log  huts  chinked 
with  mud.  Their  officers  were  more  comfortably  housed  in  a  two- 
story  frame  building  near  the  village.  The  whole  number  of 
guards,  whose  commander  was  General  John  H.  Winder,  was  at 
the  time  of  my  visit  about  four  thousand. 

Outside  of  the  prison  proper,  a  hospital,  which  was  also  a 
stockade,  had  been  built  a  short  while  before  I  went  to  Anderson- 
ville.  It  was  supplied  with  some  tents  and  three  or  four  covered 


\     516  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

wooden  sheds.  At  the  distance  of  a  hundred  or  more  yards  from 
the  hospital  was  the  ''dead  house,"  a  bush  arbor  of  circular  shape, 
to  which  dead  prisoners  from  both  stockade  and  hospital  were 
brought  and  laid  out  for  burial.  In  a  northerly  direction,  several 
hundred  feet  from  the  "dead  house,"  stood  the  cook  house  or 
regular  kitchen,  which  must  be  distinguished  from  the  bakery 
built  over  the  creek  and  between  the  palisades  on  the  west  side 
of  the  main  stockade. 

The  prison,  established  under  the  pressure  of  necessity  and  in 
haste  to  relieve  the  congestion  of  other  Southern  war  prisons, 
struck  me  as  being  at  best  but  a  miserable  makeshift.  Its  sanitary 
condition  was  bad,  or  so  it  appeared  to  me,  but  being  only  a  boy 
at  the  time  perhaps  I  was  incapable  of  forming  an  opinion  on 
this  point  worthy  of  consideration.  Be  that  as  it  may,  however, 
I  know  the  prisoners  were  both  crowded  and  much  exposed  to  the 
weather.  The  day  I  saw  them  they  were  a  sweltering  mass  of 
humanity,  each  unit  of  which  was  confined  to  a  space  of  not  more 
than  twenty  feet.  This  of  itself — the  crowding  of  thirty-two 
thousand  human  beings  so  thickly  together — was  sufficient  to 
make  the  prison  unsanitary.  But  that  was  not  all.  There  was  the 
bakery  over  the  creek,  where,  in  addition  to  the  baking  going  on, 
I  saw  whole  carcasses  of  slaughtered  animals  being  cut  up  and 
made  ready  for  distribution.  The  refuse  which  fell  into  the 
creek,  together  with  the  filth  that  washed  into  it  from  the  hill 
sides  during  heavy  rains,  necessarily  contaminated  the  water. 
Then  the  ground  within  the  stockade  on  both  sides  of  the  creek 
had  been  trampled  into  a  mire  of  nastiness.  Although  unfit  for 
any  sort  of  use,  this  creek  water  was  about  all  that  was  accessible 
to  the  prisoners  for  bathing.  There  was  an  abundant  supply  of 
comparatively  pure  drinking  water  from  springs  and  wells  within 
the  enclosure  and  about  the  eighth  of  a  mile  from  the  creek. 

To  the  unacclimated  prisoners  such  conditions  and  the  kind  of 
food  furnished  them,  although  the  same  as  that  given  to  the  Con 
federate  guards,  were  greatly  provocative  of  sickness  and  death. 
In  fact,  a  large  number  of  the  prisoners  was  continually  on  the 
sick  list,  and  the  percentage  of  deaths  from  various  diseases  was 
frightful.  While  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  make  the  inquiry, 
I  venture  to  say  that  on  the  day  I  was  at  Andersonville  fully  a 
thousand  were  in  the  hospital,  and  that  nearly  as  many  more 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  517 

were  sick  in  the  stockade.  Some  of  the  latter  I  saw — pale, 
emaciated  fellows  lying  around  in  such  shade  as  they  could  find, 
or  walking  about  with  a  look  of  despair  in  their  eyes — on  whom, 
it  seemed  to  me,  Death  had  already  set  his  mark. 

About  noon  I  happened  to  be  standing  near  the  hospital  gates, 
when,  in  the  space  of  as  many  minutes,  I  saw  four  or  five  dead 
bodies  brought  out  on  stretchers  and  borne  to  the  dead  house.  I 
don't  know  exactly  how  many  died  that  day,  but  in  all  probability 
a  hundred  at  least;  for,  according  to  the  hospital  records,  the 
average  daily  death  rate  for  the  month  of  August,  1864,  was  fully 
that  number. 

I  accompanied  the  bearers  of  the  dead  to  the  "dead  house," 
which,  as  has  been  said,  was  only  a  bush  arbor  far  removed  from 
the  prison.  Four  other  dead  prisoners  were  already  there  await 
ing  burial,  making,  with  those  the  bearers  brought,  eight  in  all. 
The  bodies  were  not  put  in  coffins,  but  they  were  laid  side  by  side 
on  the  bare  ground.  They  were  bareheaded,  barefooted, 
unwashed,  and  unshaven.  Flies  swarmed  about  them,  or 
crawled  over  their  upturned  faces.  A  few  beams  of  light  here 
and  there  strayed  through  the  leafy  covering  overhead  and  lit  up 
the  ghastly  scene. 

One  of  the  dead  was  a  boy  about  my  age.  Unlike  some  of  the 
others,  he  did  not  have  the  appearance  of  a  foreigner.  I  was 
quite  sure  he  was  an  American,  probably  from  one  of  the  New 
England  States.  It  made  me  feel  very  sad  to  see  him  lying  there 
dead,  in  a  strange  and  hostile  land.  Somehow  I  had  no  such  feel 
ing  toward  the  others.  To  me  they  were  simply  unknown  dead 
men,  in  whom  I  took  little  interest.  But  with  the  boy,  I  suppose 
because  he  was  a  boy  like  myself,  it  was  different.  As  I  stood  in 
the  entrance  to  the  "dead  house,"  leaning  against  one  of  its  posts 
and  looking  down  on  his  peaceful  face  in  which  death  had  carved 
fine  lines,  I  got  to  wondering  about  his  antecedents — who  he  was, 
where  he  came  from,  if  his  parents  were  living,  and  how  one  so 
young  happened  to  drift  into  the  army.  It  occurred  to  me  that 
possibly  he,  like  many  other  Andersonville  prisoners,  had  died 
of  homesickness.  He  seemed  one  of  those  to  whom  the  call  of 
home  would  appeal  irresistibly.  I  could  imagine  how,  shut  up  in 
that  prison,  thoughts  of  home  would  come  to  him,  making  him 
long  for  it  with  unutterable  longing,  until,  bereft  of  all  hope  of 


518  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

release,  he  sickened  and  died.  I  wondered  if  he  was  the  "only 
son  of  his  mother,  and  she  a  widow."  Perhaps  he  was  one  of  the 
"unknown  dead,"  and  if  so,  that  mother  wouldjiever  know  where 
or  when  he  died,  and  year  after  year  she  would  be  looking  for 
him,  but  in  vain. 

So  it  came  to  pass,  as  I  thought  of  all  those  things,  I  could 
hardly  keep  back  the  tears.  Every  trace  of  animosity  in  me  died. 
He  was  no  longer  an  enemy  of  my  country,  but  a  poor  dead  boy 
whose  untimely  end  I  commiserated.  And  I  turned  away,  real 
izing  how  death  can  rub  out  old  scores  and  replace  them  with 
feelings  of  pity  and  sorrow. 

When  the  burial  squad,  also  prisoners,  came  to  take  away  the 
dead  to  bury  them,  I  followed,  not  from  idle  curiosity,  but  with 
a  different  sort  of  feeling,  I  hardly  knew  what.  I  only  know  that 
I  realized  as  never  before  the  strange  solemnity  of  death,  to  the 
sight  of  which  I  was  unused.  At  that  time  I  had  no  such  indiffer 
ence  toward  dead  people  as  came  later,  even  before  the  end  of  the 
fraticidal  war,  when  I  could  look  as  unmoved  on  a  dead  man 
as  on  a  dead  animal. 

The  graveyard  or  burying  place  was  situated  three  hundred 
yards  northwest  of  the  stockade,  and  thither,  led  by  the  guards, 
we  took  our  way,  unaccompanied  by  sound  of  drum  or  funeral 
note.  There  was  no  time  for  ceremony.  I  supposed,  of  course, 
coffins  would  be  found  there,  but  not  so;  for  death  worked  much 
faster  among  the  Andersonville  prisoners  than  coffins  could  be 
made.  Instead  of  graves,  one  for  each  body,  there  were  shallow 
trenches,  already  dug,  of  varying  lengths.  Here,  in  one  of  these 
trenches,  they  put  the  uncoffined  dead  side  by  side,  separated 
from  each  other  by  only  a  few  inches.  There  was  no  religious 
service  of  any  kind,  not  even  a  prayer  was  said.  Nature  was 
more  pitiful  than  man,  for  the  wind  kept  up  a  great  sighing  in 
the  tops  of  the  pines  that  skirted  the  prison  cemetery.  With  what 
appeared  to  me  unseemly  haste,  they  shoveled  the  red  earth  into 
the  pit,  placing  at  the  head  of  each  dead  man  a  wooden  stake 
bearing  a  number  which  corresponded  with  a  similar  numbered 
name  on  the  hospital  record. 

The  trenches,  in  which  thousands  had  already  been  buried, 
were,  as  I  have  said,  rather  shallow.  Looking  down  them,  I  saw 
in  one  place,  where  the  earth  had  settled  and  become  gullied  out 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  519 

by  washing  rains,  a  hand  protruding.  That  uplifted  hand, 
belonging  to  one  who  was  perhaps  prematurely  buried,  will 
always  haunt  my  memory. 

The  principal  figure  about  Andersonville,  the  one  to  be  most 
met  with — here,  there,  everywhere — was  Captain  Wirz,  the  gov 
ernor  of  the  prison.  I  saw  him  several  times  that  day — in  fact, 
spoke  to  him — and  my  recollection  of  him  is  very  vivid.  He  was 
the  sort  of  man  to  hold  one's  memory.  In  person,  he  was  rather 
small  and  insignificant-looking,  being  considerably  under  the 
average  height  and  weight.  His  complexion  was  dark — hair  and 
eyes  were  almost  black.  He  wore  a  full  beard.  He  was  wiry, 
alert,  full  of  energy,  quick  of  speech,  easily  excited,  and  often  got 
rattled.  He  couldn't  keep  still.  He  reminded  me  of  a  French 
man,  and  such  I  took  him  to  be  until  informed  that  he  was  a 
Swiss.  But  for  the  three  bars  braided  on  his  collar,  his  dress 
gave  no  indication  of  his  rank.  He  had  on  a  dark  blue  flannel 
shirt  and  black  and  white  checked  trousers  that  bagged  at  the 
knees.  He  wore  a  soft  felt  hat  much  battered  by  long  usage,  and 
his  feet  w^ere  thrust  into  a  pair  of  shabby,  low-cut  shoes. 
Attached  to  his  belt,  in  which  was  stuck  a  pistol  or  two,  was  a 
cavalry  saber  much  too  long  for  him.  It  trailed  on  the  ground, 
and  every  time  he  moved  it  made  a  clattering  noise.  In  short, 
his  whole  dress  was  slovenly  and  unsoldierlike ;  and  this,  with  his 
overbearing  manner,  struck  me  rather  unfavorably.  To  some  he 
may  have  seemed  a  fair  type  of  the  man  "clothed  with  a  little 
brief  authority." 

The  first  time  I  saw  Captain  Wirz  was  near  the  entrance  to  the 
stockade.  Some  prisoners,  seven  or  eight  hundred,  had  just  been 
brought  in  by  train  from  the  upper  part  of  Georgia;  and  when 
they  drew  near  the  prison  I  noticed  that  Wirz,  whom  I  did  not 
then  know,  became  greatly  excited.  He  acted  like  one  intoxicated 
or  who  had  completely  lost  his  head.  His  antics  were  to  me  very 
funny,  as  they  would  have  been  to  any  boy.  He  skipped  around 
like  a  dancing  dervish,  his  sword  as  it  dragged  the  ground  keep 
ing  up  a  rattling  accompaniment.  He  darted  hither  and  thither, 
gesticulating,  shouting  at  both  guards  and  prisoners,  and  cursing 
volubly  in  broken  English.  His  profanity,  while  picturesque, 
was  simply  awful.  It  made  me  shiver.  He  was  very  impartial 
in  the  distribution  of  his  oaths,  flinging  them  liberally  at  the 


520  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

heads  of  both  guards  and  prisoners;  and  yet  he  impressed  me 
with  the  notion  that  a  blue  uniform  affected  him  somewhat  as  a 
red  rag  does  a  bull. 

As  the  prisoners  were  filing  through  the  stockade  gates,  I 
noticed  one  brawny  six-footer  with  a  log  of  wood  on  his  shoulder. 
I  don't  know  what  he  intended  doing  with  it — probably  he 
thought  he  would  need  it  for  cooking  his  supper.  Captain  Wirz 
also  saw  him,  and  rushing  toward  him  shouted :  "Drop  eet.  *  *  * 
Hear  you  me  not?  Drop  eet,  drop  eet,  I  say."  And  the  man 
dropped  it  on  a  pile  of  wood  just  outside  the  prison  entrance. 

That  was  the  nearest  approach  to  cruelty  I  saw  on  the  part  of 
Wirz,  who  doubtless  had  some  good  reason  for  ordering  the  pris 
oner  to  drop  the  wood.  As  for  his  profanity,  that  signified  noth 
ing,  since  there  are  many  excellent  men  who  curse  habitually  and 
unconsciously,  and  apparently  for  no  reason  whatever. 

My  friend,  the  New  Jerseyman,  who  wanted  to  enter  the  stock 
ade,  applied  to  Captain  Wirz  for  permission.  He  refused  in 
terms  more  emphatic  than  polite.  He  said  we  were  a  couple  of 
"d — d  fools"  for  wanting  to  go  among  the  prisoners,  telling  us  it 
was  dangerous  on  account  of  the  place  being  full  of  contagious 
diseases,  especially  smallpox.  "Eef,"  he  said,  "you  get  not  ze 
smallpock,  you  vill  be  robbed,  may  be  killed.  Non ;  I  vill  permeet 
you  not  among  ze  preesoners  to  go." 

That  was  our  first  and  only  interview  with  Captain  Wirz. 
But  I  have  often  thought  he  was  right  about  us,  though  I  didn't 
think  so  then.  We  were  two  "d — d  fools,"  and  I,  for  one,  am 
glad  he  thought  so,  and  refused  us  admission  to  the  stockade. 

While  at  Andersonville,  I  heard  a  curious  story  about  Wirz, 
which  seemed  to  throw  so'me  light  on  what  I  regarded  as  his 
singular  behavior  at  the  prison  gates.  It  was  told  me  by  a  young 
artillery  officer.  I  do  not  recall  his  exact  language,  but  he  said 
substantially  that  Captain  Wirz  was  imbittered  against  all 
Yankees  on  account  of  the  brutal  treatment  which  certain  mem 
bers  of  his  family,  residents  of  New  Orleans,  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  some  Federal  soldiers  after  the  capture  of  that  city  by 
General  B.  F.  Butler.  I  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  story. 
As  I  have  never  seen  anything  in  print  corroborative  of  it,  I  shall 
always  be  in  doubt  as  to  whether  it  was  fact  or  fiction.  I  give  it 
as  I  heard  it  and  for  what  it  is  worth. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  521 

Captain  Wirz's  end  was  tragical,  as  all  the  world  knows.  It 
was  undeserved.  About  the  time  the  war  closed,  the  whole 
country  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  overwhelming  excitement  over 
the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln.  In  the  midst  of  it  Wirz 
was  arrested,  and  in  August,  1865,  he  was  brought  to  trial  before 
a  military  commission,  specially  convened  at  Washington  for  the 
purpose,  on  the  charge  of  cruel  and  inhumane  treatment  of  the 
Andersonville  prisoners.  In  the  bill  of  indictment  against  him 
were  several  counts.  He  was  charged  with  injuring  the  health 
and  destroying  the  lives  of  his  prisoners  by  subjecting  them  to 
torture  and  great  suffering ;  by  .confining  them  in  unhealthy  and 
unwholesome  quarters ;  by  exposing  them  to  the  inclemency  of  the 
winter  and  the  dews  and  burning  sun  of  summer ;  by  compelling 
the  use  of  impure  water ;  by  furnishing  insufficient  and  unwhole 
some  food ;  by  establishing  the  dead  line  and  ordering  the  guards 
to  shoot  down  any  prisoner  attempting  to  cross  it,  and  by  tor 
turing  prisoners  in  the  stocks.  These  charges  by  ex-parte  testi 
mony  were  easily  proven,  and  Captain  Wirz  was  found  guilty 
and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  But  the  sentence  of  the  court  was 
not  carried  into  effect  until  the  10th  of  November,  1865. 

Justice  is  depicted  as  a  virgin  blindfolded,  holding  in  one 
hand  a  pair  of  scales  evenly  balanced,  and  in  the  other  an  un 
sheathed  sword  with  which  to  cut  down  the  guilty.  In  this  trial 
of  Wirz,  never  was  Justice  so  completely  hoodwinked ;  never  were 
her  scales  so  unevenly  balanced !  never  did  she  strike  out  so 
blindly  and  vindictively,  thus  lending  herself  to  the  consum 
mation  of  an  act  which  impartial  history  will  yet  pronounce  a 
judicial  murder.  Why  do  I  say  this ?  Because  the  bill  of  indict 
ment  under  which  all  these  things  are  charged  against  Wirz,  is 
also  an  indictment  of  every  Federal  prison  throughout  the  North 
in  which  Confederate  prisoners  were  confined  during  the  war; 
and  therein  Justice,  at  this  drummed-up  court-martial  to  try  Wirz, 
showed  how  utterly  blind  she  was,  and  how  in  her  rage  she 
wounded  the  North  more  than  the  South.  There  is  not  a  charge 
against  Wirz  which  cannot  be  offset  by  a  similar  charge  against 
the  governors  of  Northern  prisons,  as,  for  instance,  the  insuffi 
cient  and  unwholesome  food  in  some  prisons  that  made  Confed 
erate  prisoners  esteem  rats  rare  and  dainty  morsels;  the  allowance 
to  prisoners  at  Johnson  Island  of  one  thin  blanket  in  zero 


522  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

weather;  the  compelled  use  at  Point  Lookout  of  drinking  water 
strongly  impregnated  with  copperas,  and  the  dead  line  at  both 
Elmira,  N.  Y.,  and  Point  Lookout  over  which,  a  prisoner  might 
not  cross  without  being  shot.  So  if  Wirz,  in  the  light  of  the 
charges  in  the  bill  of  indictment  against  him,  is  to  be  regarded,  as 
he  has  been  represented,  a  human  monster,  a  fiend  incarnate,  let 
it  not  be  forgotten  that,  under  similar  charges  as  easily  proven, 
there  are  many  such  fiends  from  the  other  side  to  keep  him  com 
pany  in  the  underworld. 

But  was  Captain  Wirz  guilty  of  wanton  cruelty  and  inhu 
manity  to  the  Andersonville  prisoners  ?  Apparently  so  only.  He 
was  the  victim  of  circumstances.  The  conditions  of  the  prison 
were  bad,  as  I  have  said,  but  he  was  not  responsible  for  those 
conditions.  He  did  not  select  the  prison  site,  nor  did  he  build  the 
prison.  The  conditions  at  Andersonville  were  created  before  he 
became  its  governor,  and  after  his  coming  they  grew  worse  from 
overcrowding,  which  he  could  not  prevent.  With  the  means  at 
his  disposal  he  did  the  best  he  could  to  protect  his  prisoners  from 
the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  both  winter  and  summer.  Those 
means  were  inadequate,  to  be  sure,  but  that  was  not  his  fault. 
He  was  obliged  to  avail  himself  of  what  nature  had  provided 
and  to  use  the  supplies  furnished  by  his  government. 

I  have  stated  that  the  water  in  which  the  prisoners  washed  was 
impure,  made  so  by  unavoidable  conditions,  but  Captain  Wirz 
did  not  compel  its  use  for  that  purpose.  The  drinking  water, 
however,  was  comparatively  pure,  far  more  so  than  that  to  which 
Confederate  prisoners  had  access  at  Point  Lookout. 

As  to  the  charge  that  Captain  Wirz  furnished  the  prisoners 
with  insufficient  and  unwholesome  food,  I  can  only  say  that  it  was 
the  same  supplied  to  the  guards  at  Andersonville,  and  better  and 
more  abundant  than  that  the  Confederate  soldiers  at  the  front 
received.  I  know  it  was  not  the  kind  of  food  supplied  to  Northern 
soldiers,  but  it  was  the  only  kind  the  Confederate  commissariat 
was  able  to  furnish.  If  the  prisoners  by  eating  this  food,  to 
which  they  were  unaccustomed,  sickened  and  died,  Captain  Wirz 
was  not  responsible  for  their  sickness  and  mortality.  He  gave 
them  no  worse  food  than  the  Confederate  guards  had,  no  worse, 
in  fact,  that  he  himself  ate.  But  it  will  be  said  that  it  was  not  fit 
food  for  sick  men,  especially  for  men  suffering  from  diarrhoea  and 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  523 

scurvy,  of  which  diseases  seventy-five  hundred  died  out  of  a  total 
of  nearly  thirteen  thousand  deaths.  That  is  true,  and  for  the 
very  good  reason  that  nourishing  food  and  vegetables,  so  neces 
sary  for  the  majority  of  the  sick,  were  unobtainable.  There  was 
not  a  vegetable  farm  within  fifty  miles  of  Andersonville,  and 
nobody  anywhere  in  the  South  at  that  time  had  anything  in  the 
way  of  food  likely  to  tempt  the  appetites  of  sick  people.  In  fact, 
everybody,  both  in  the  army  and  at  home,  was  compelled  to  live 
on  very  short  commons,  and  sometimes  they  had  not  even  these. 
It  was  unfortunate,  therefore,  that  the  poor  prisoners  happened 
to  come  South  in  her  time  of  poverty  and  straitened  circum 
stances,  but  they  were  served  with  the  best  obtainable,  and  if  it 
disagreed  with  them,  nobody  in  the  South  should  have  been 
blamed,  least  of  all  Captain  Wirz. 

But  that  awful  dead  line — what  about  it?  Yes,  there  was  a 
dead  line  at  Andersonville;  and  yet  the  exigencies  of  the  situation 
demanded  its  establishment,  just,  as  I  suppose,  they  did  at  Point 
Lookout  and  Elmira,  where  Confederate  prisoners  were  confined. 
Andersonville  prison  was  in  the  open,  so  to  speak,  and  the  utmost 
precautions  had  to  be  taken  to  prevent  surprises.  I  was  told  while 
there  that  the  dead  line  was  not  established  until  attempts  had 
been  made  by  prisoners  to  storm  the  stockade  gates,  with  the  view 
of  overpowering  the  guards  and  so  making  their  escape. 

Only  one  prisoner  was  ever  killed  at  Andersonville  for  crossing 
the  dead  line.  It  came  about  in  a  peculiar  way.  The  sentinel 
who  killed  him  told  me  the  story,  which  I  give  pretty  much  in 
his  own  words: 

"One  day  a  prisoner  came  up  to  the  dead  line,  and,  calling  to 
me,  said,  'Johnnie,  I'm  going  to  cross  your  dead  line.' 

"  'No,  you  won't,'  I  said.  'You  know  my  orders — you  know  I'll 
kill  you  if  you  come  over  on  this  side.' 

"  'Yes,  I  know ;  and  that's  why  I'm  going  to  cross.  You  see  I 
ain't  got  the  nerve  to  commit  suicide,  even  if  I  had  anything  to 
do  it  with,  and  so  I  thought  I'd  come  down  here  and  make  you 
kill  me.  I'd  rather  be  dead  than  live  another  day  in  this  hell  on 
earth.  Look  out,  here  I  come.' 

"  'For  God's  sake,  man,  keep  back,'  I  said,  'I  don't  want  to  shoot 
you.  *  *  *  You  d — d  fool,  keep  back,  keep  back  on  your  own  side.' 


524  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"But  the  prisoner,  without  another  word,  crossed  over,  and  I 
shot  him.  I  hated  to  do  it.  But  what  else  could  I  do?  I  was 
under  orders.  It  was  me  or  him."  v;^ 

At  his  trial  Wirz  was  charged  with  this  killing.  It  was  intro 
duced  to  establish  the  fact  that  he  murdered  his  prisoners.  Great 
stress  was  laid  on  it,  and  the  use  the  prosecution  made  of  it  had 
much  to  do  with  securing  Wirz's  conviction.  But  it  was  unjust 
to  make  him,  who  held  only  a  subordinate  position  at  Anderson- 
ville,  responsible  for  the  establishment  of  the  dead  line  and  the 
death  of  a  man  who  virtually  committed  suicide.  General  Win 
der  was  in  command,  and  doubtless  from  him  emanated  the  orders 
to  set  up  the  dead  line  and  shoot  down  any  prisoner  attempting 
to  cross  it. 

Captain  Wirz  did  not  appear  to  me  as  one  who  would  be 
maliciously  cruel  to  his  prisoners.  He  may  have  been  a  martinet, 
and  I  think  he  was,  but  I  believe  he  was  too  brave  a  man  to  mal 
treat  an  unarmed  and  helpless  foe.  The  charges  preferred  against 
him  do  not  warrant  the  conclusion  that  he  was  an  inhuman 
wretch.  He  was  hampered  by  conditions  over  which  he  had  no 
control,  compelled  by  circumstances  to  do  things  that  were  hard, 
and  so  it  was  easy  to  bring  charges  against  him  which  he  could 
not  possibly  disprove.  Those  conditions  were  facts,  but  neither 
they  nor  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  were  of  his 
making. 

It  was  Wirz's  fate  to  suffer  for  what  he  could  not  help  or 
prevent.  When  the  war  ended,  the  people  of  the  North  were 
incensed  against  the  people  of  the  South,  and  the  cry  was 
insistent  for  some  kind  of  expiatory  sacrifice,  not  only  for  what 
has  been  called  the  sin  of  Andersonville,  but  for  the  other  sup 
posed  sins  of  the  South.  Some,  at  first,  wanted  all  the  Southern 
leaders  hung  at  traitors ;  but,  fortunately,  there  were  others  whom 
the  madness  of  the  hour  had  not  swept  off  their  feet.  They  were 
level-headed  men  who,  versed  in  constitutional  law  and 
acquainted  with  the  principles  of  the  Federal  compact  under 
which  the  Union  was  formed,  realized  the  impossibility  of  estab 
lishing  before  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  land  the  charge  of 
treason  against  any  Southerner.  But  they  were  unable  to  with 
stand  the  popular  clamor  for  atoning  blood.  Some  victim  had  to 
be  provided ;  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that  poor  Wirz,  whose  alleged 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  525 

cruelties  to  prisoners  were  on  every  Northern  tongue,  was  chosen, 
although  another  of  the  most  exalted  rank  and  deep  in  the  affec 
tions  of  the  South  was  preferred.  Evidence  was  sought  for  high 
and  low  to  connect  Mr.  Davis  with  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln.  It  has  been  said  Wirz's  life  was  promised  him  if  he  would 
implicate  the  President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  Life  is 
sweet  to  a  man,  but  Wirz  did  not  love  it  enough  to  perjure  him 
self.  With  all  his  faults,  he  was  too  true  a  man  to  sacrifice  honor 
for  the  sake  of  a  few  more  years.  It  was  not  in  his  nature  to 
incriminate  an  innocent  man.  So,  friendless  and  hated,  he,  not 
the  preferred  one,  became  the  victim  of  expiation.  He  stood,  as 
it  were,  in  the  South's  place  and  suffered  for  her  alleged  crimes 
of  treason  and  inhumanity.  For  this,  if  for  nothing  else,  he 
deserves  a  monument.  Such  a  monument  would  be  the  South's 
protest  against  the  charge  of  inhumanity  to  her  prisoners. 

But  Andersonville,  where  I  saw  only  dead  and  dying  and 
suffering  men — the  memory  of  which  seems  like  some  terrible 
vision  of  the  night — who  was  responsible  for  it?  Somebody  was. 
I  do  not  think  it  was  Wirz.  It  could  hardly  have  been  the  Rich 
mond  government,  which,  in  1864,  faced  conditions  that  meant 
defeat,  showed  that  the  end  of  Southern  hopes  was  near  at  hand. 
The  South's  resources  were  about  exhausted.  It  was  hard,  well- 
nigh  impossible,  to  negotiate  foreign  loans  to  continue  the  war. 
Confederate  money  was  Avorthless.  The  country  had  been  drained 
of  all  its  men,  from  boys  of  fifteen  to  old  men  of  seventy.  Of  the 
600,000  that  had  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  armies,  over  200,000 
were  in  Northern  prisons.  The  seat  of  war  had  been  transferred 
from  the  border  States  to  almost  the  heart  of  the  South,  and 
the  portion  not  overrun  was  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  a  cordon 
of  hostile  forces  that  was  ever  contracting  like  an  anaconda 
around  its  prey. 

Under  such  conditions  the  Confederate  government  found  itself 
burdened  writh  a  vast  multitude  of  prisoners.  Out  of  its  exhausted 
means  these  were  to  be  provided  for  and  fed ;  and,  considering  all 
things,  it  is  remarkable,  and  speaks  well  for  the  South,  that  of 
the  270,000  Federal  prisoners  she* held  from  first  to  last,  only  8^2 
per  cent,  of  them  died;  whereas,  of  the  220,000  Confederate  pris 
oners  held  in  the  opulent  North  12  per  cent,  of  them  died.  The 
excessive  sickness  and  large  percentage  of  deaths  at  Andersonville 


526  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

were  exceptional,  due,  partly,  to  the  site  of  the  prison,  which  was 
selected  on  account  of  its  remoteness  from  the  seat  of  war  and  its 
being  in  the  midst  of  an  agricultural  section  not  subject  to 
foraging  or  raiding  parties ;  partly,  to  the  insufficiency  of  doctors 
and  medical  supplies,  especially  quinine,  which  the  Washington 
government  had  made  contraband  of  war ;  and,  partly,  to  the  bad 
sanitary  condition  of  the  prison,  together  with  its  crowded  state, 
neither  of  which  could  be  remedied.  Tn  short,  the  Confederate 
authorities  were,  at  the  time  of  which  I  write,  absolutely  power 
less  to  take  any  better  care  of  their  prisoners. 

Still  the  "Andersonville  horror"  might  have  been  prevented. 
How  ?  In  1864  the  Confederate  government  was  anxious  to  effoct 
an  exchange  of  prisoners  with  the  United  States  government  for 
two  reasons — to  replete  the  Southern  armies  with  Confederate 
prisoners  from  Northern  prisons  and  to  rid  itself  of  the  burden 
of  feeding  and  otherwise  caring  for  the  many  thousands  of 
Federal  prisoners  on  its  hands.  Overtures  with  the  view  of 
bringing  about  an  exchange  of  prisoners  were  made  to  the  proper 
officials  at  Washington,  but  they  were  abortive.  Mr.  Stanton, 
President  Lincoln's  war  secretary,  upheld  by  the  well-known 
opposition  of  General  Grant  to  an  exchange,  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  these  overtures.  It  is  doubtful  if  the  matter  was  ever  brought 
to  the  attention  of  Mr.  Lincoln ;  for  if  it  had  been  done  it  is  prob 
able  that  his  big  and  humane  heart  would  have  felt  the  necessity 
of  relieving  in  this  way  the  Andersonville  prisoners  from  their 
miserable  situation. 

On  the  8th  of  August,  1864,  about  the  time  I  was  at  Anderson 
ville,  General  Grant  sent  the  following  telegram  to  General  B.  F. 
Butler  regarding  the  subject  of  exchange.  It  is  very  significant 
and  shows  conclusively  upon  whom  the  responsibility  rests  for  the 
protracted  sufferings  of  Federal  soldiers  in  Southern  prisons. 
General  Grant  said : 

"On  the  subject  of  exchange,  however,  I  differ  with  General 
Hitchcock.  It  is  hard  on  our  men  held  in  Southern  prisons  not  to 
release  them,  but  it  is  humanity  to  those  left  in  the  ranks  to  fight 
our  battles.  To  commence  a 'system  of  exchange  now,  which 
liberates  all  prisoners  taken,  we  will  have  to  fight  on  until  the 
whole  South  is  exterminated.  If  we  hold  those  already  caught, 
they  amount  to  no  more  than  so  many  dead  men.  At  this  par- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  527 

ticular  time,  to  release  all  rebel  prisoners  would  ensure  Sherman's 
defeat  and  compromise  our  safety  here."* 

Clearly,  then,  the  policy  of  the  Federal  authorities  was  opposed 
to  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  Rather  than  run  the  risk  of  turning 
the  tide  of  war  in  favor  of  the  South,  by  returning  through 
exchange  Confederate  prisoners  to  its  armies,  they  preferred  to 
let  their  own  men  suffer  and  die  in  Southern  prisons.  Having  all 
the  world  to  draw  from  for  reinforcements,  they  had  no  need  of 
their  imprisoned  soldiers.  So,  according  to  General  Grant's  view, 
it  was  better  policy,  a  more  humane  deed,  to  allow  them  to  stay 
on  and  rot  at  Anderson ville  than  to  release  them  by  exchange 
and  thus  invite  the  defeat  of  the  North.  As  a  war  measure  this 
was  good  policy,  no  doubt,  but  considered  from  a  humanitarian 
point  of  view  it  was  damnable. 

Failing  in  the  matter  of  exchange,  the  Confederate  authorities, 
moved  this  time  b}T  considerations  of  humanity,  proposed,  so  I 
have  been  informed,  that  the  Federal  authorities  should  send  to 
Andersonville  with  medical  supplies  their  own  physicians  to  take 
charge  of  the  sick  and  wounded  there.  But  this  offer  was 
declined,  although  it  must  have  been  known  at  Washington  that 
the  uncertain  ways  by  which  the  South  obtained  its  medical  sup 
plies — through  blockade  runners  and  patriotic  Southern  Avomen 
who  smuggled  them  concealed  underneath  their  petticoats 
through  the  enemy's  lines§ — accounted  for  the  lack  of  such  medi 
cines  as  were  essential  to  overcome  the  diseases  that  prevailed  at 
Andersonville. 

Finally,  after  being  worn  out  by  the  obduracy  of  the  Washing 
ton  government,  the  Richmond  government  offered  to  parole  all 
sick  and  wounded  prisoners,  provided  transports  were  sent  for 
them  at  certain  designated  ports  on  the  Southern  coast.t  This 
was  agreed  to,  and,  after  many  vexations  delays,  ships  were  at 


*See  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies — Prisoners  of 
War— Series  II,  Vol.  VII,  p.  606. 

§A  Charleston  (S.  C.)  lady  told  me  that  she  thus  brought  through  the 
Federal  lines  packages  of  quinine. 

fPensacola,  Fla.,  was  one  of  the  points,  if  not  the  principal  point,  desig 
nated.  My  old  teacher  after  the  war,  Captain  J.  C.  Rutherford,  was  the 
Confederacy's  agent  to  arrange  the  matter. 

34— B.    C. 


528  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

last  sent,  but  not  in  time  to  prevent  the  death  of  many  whose  lives 
by  greater  diligence  might  have  been  saved. 

In  view  of  the  above  facts,  the  South  should  not  be  charged 
with  inhumanity  to  the  Andersonville  prisoners.  Though 
poverty-stricken  towards  the  end  of  the  war,  she  yet  did  for  them 
the  best  she  could  with  her  limited  means.  Their  condition  was 
dreadful,  to  be  sure,  and  no  one  appreciated  and  deplored  the  fact 
more  than  the  people  of  the  South ;  but  they  could  do  nothing  to 
alleviate  their  situation,  and  the  North  would  not  when  given  the 
opportunity.  So  it  would  seem  that  not  Wirz,  not  the  South,  but 
the  North,  which  had  adopted  the  policy  of  Grant's  dispatch  to 
Butler,  was  responsible  for  their  sufferings  and  long  months  of 
agony  in  which  their  hearts  sickened  through  hope  deferred. 
Theirs  was  a  sad,  a  pitiable  fate ;  but  it  was  what  comes  of  war, 
which  is  cruel  and  merciless — a  monster  that  all  civilized  peoples 
should  unite  to  condemn  and  thrust  out  of  the  world. 


Interesting  Comparison 

[From  the  Richmond  Times-Dispatch.] 

One  of  the  most  important  historical  facts  in  "the  great  strug 
gle  we  made  for  constitutional  freedom"  (as  General  Lee  always 
designated  the  war)  is  a  correct  statement  of  "the  overwhelming 
numbers  and  resources"  against  which  the  Confederates  fought. 

The  disparity  of  numbers  has  been  frequently  brought  out,  but 
never  more  clearly  than  by  Mr.  Cazemore  G.  Lee,  of  Washington, 
in  the  following  table,  which  was  published  originally  in  the 
Baltimore  Sun. 

Mr.  Lee's  figures  show  that  the  total  enlistments  in  the 
Northern  army  were  2,778,304  as  against  600,000  in  the  Con 
federate  army.  The  foreigners  and  negroes  in  the  Northern  army 
aggregated  680,917,  or  80,917  more  than  the  total  strength  of  the 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  529 

Confederate  army.     There  were  316,424  men  of  Southern  birth 
in  the  Northern  army.    Mr.  Lee's  figures  are  as  follows: 

Northern  Army : 

Whites  from  the  North 2,272,333 

Whites  from  the  South 316,424 

Negroes 186,017 

Indians 3,530 

Total 2,778,304 

Southern  Army 600,000 


North's  numerical  superiority 2,178,304 


In  the  Northern  Army  there  were : 

Germans 176,800 

Irish 144,200 

British  Americans 53.500 

English 45,500 

Other  nationalities 74,900 

Negroes 186,017 


Total 680,917 

Total  of  Southern  soldiers 600,000 


Southern  men  in  Northern  Army 316,424 

Foreigners 494,900 

Negroes 186,017 


Total 998,613 


Armies  at  the  war's  end : 

Aggregate  Federal  Army,  May  1,  1865 1,000,516 

Aggregate  Confederate  Army,  May  1,  1865 133,433 


530  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

Number  in  battle.  Confederates.  Federals 

Seven  days' fight 80,835^  115,249 

Antietam 35,255*  87,164 

Chancellorsville 57,212  131,661 

Freidericksburg 78,110  110,000 

Gettysburg 62,000  95,000 

Chickamauga 44,000  65,000 

Wilderness 63,987  141,160 

Federal  prisoners  in  Confederate  prisons 270.000 

Confederate  prisoners  in  Federal  prisons 220,000 

Confederates  died  in  Federal  prisons 26,436 

Federals  died  in  Confederate  prisons 22,570 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALBY,  1861-1865.  531 


PRISONERS  OF  WAR  NORTH  AND  SOUTH 

[Atlanta  Journal.] 

[Essay  of  Miss  Ruth  Rodgers  that  won  the  MacDowell  Wolff 
medal.  The  writer  is  not  yet  fourteen,  but  has  already  won  two 
medals  for  essays  on  Civil  War  topics.] 

In  the  consideration  of  the  Civil  War,  one  of  the  special  and 
most  interesting  in  all  its  various  phases  is  the  capture  and  treat 
ment  of  prisoners  of  war. 

In  all  nations  or  countries  called  civilized,  when  they  may  be 
engaged  in  war,  it  is  customary  for  the  contending  parties  to 
accept  the  surrender  of  men  from  the  opposite  army,  when  they 
may  be  overtaken,  and  to  hold  in  custody  such  as  surrender.  Such 
as  are  thus  taken  are  put  hors- de-combat  by  being  put  in  prisons, 
and  held  as  prisoners  of  war,  under  such  rules  as  are  commonly 
regarded  by  what  is  termed  civilized  warfare,  if,  indeed,  any 
people  who  engage  in  a  war  may  be  properly  called  civilized. 
Instead  of  being  killed  after  their  surrender,  prisoners  are  taken 
and  held  in  prisons  so  that  they  may  not  further  fight  until 
properly  returned  or  exchanged. 

The  Civil  War  in  the  United  States  was  one  of  the  fiercest 
struggles  in  history.  The  subject  of  prisoners  in  the  Civil  War 
and  their  treatment  furnishes  to  the  student  of  military  history 
some  of  the  most  horrible  and  pathetic  incidents  of  human  suf 
fering  ever  known  in  the  world.  Both  sides  of  the  contest,  the 
United  States  and  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  have  much 
to  answer  for  in  the  matter  of  severe  and  cruel  treatment  of  pris 
oners.  The  advocates  and  partisans  of  either  side  have  often 
made  charges  of  inhumanity  against  the  other  side. 

The  responsibility  for  the  harsh  and  cruel  treatment  of  pris 
oners  is  not  easy  to  fix  in  any  specific  or  definite  degree,  and  must 
always  be  considered  as  general,  except  in  some  specific  and  indi 
vidual  cases. 

As  to  which  side  was  more  to  blame  than  the  other  can  only  be 
fairly  considered  and  estimated  by  taking  a  comparative  view  of 
the  means,  powers  and  resources  of  both  sides  for  the  proper 
treatment  of  prisoners. 


532  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

In  view  of  the  superior  advantages  of  the  United  States  gov 
ernment,  it  seems  that  the  fair  and  just  judgment  of  true  and 
impartial  history  must  be  rendered  in  favor  of  the  Confederate 
States  government.  The  Confederate  government,  at  best,  was 
but  provisional,  and  was  not  well  established  as  a  permanent  and 
reliable  government.  Its  credit  was  not  well  established  and  could 
not  be  counted  on  for  any  more  than  its  immediately  tangible  and 
visible  resources  in  hand  at  that  time.  Its  only  available  asset 
for  credit  was  the  production  of  cotton,  and  at  this  period  of  war 
the  raising  of  cotton  was  curtailed  and  limited  so  as  to  make  an 
increase  in  substantial  supplies  for  our  armies.  The  property  in 
negroes  at  this  time  was  uncertain  as  to  its  permanent  character 
or  of  duration,  and  was  not  available  as  security  for  credit. 

Prisoners  were  simply  so  many  parasites  of  the  enemy  on  the 
Confederacy.  They  were  a  lot  of  idle,  non-paying,  burdensome 
boarders,  who  had  to  be  constantly  fed  and  guarded  and  who  did 
nothing  to  contribute  to  their  own  support.  They  were  an  incubus 
upon  a  government  already  too  weak  to  carry  its  own  burden, 
having  a  population  of  slaves  who  did  not  go  into  the  armies  to 
help  fight  the  battles  for  constitutional  principles  of  government 
wherein  they  were  interested  as  to  the  whole  number  of  slaves 
and  counted  for  three-fifths  of  their  number  of  representation. 

Our  women  and  children  had  to  be  supported  while  our  men 
were  engaged  in  the  war.  Then  to  take  on  an  increase  of  hearty, 
hungry  men  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  was  a  great  tax 
and  undertaking  for  a  people  of  limited  means  and  resources. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  when 
taking  so  many  prisoners. 

With  the  United  States  government  matters  were  different,  a 
government  which  the  South  helped  to  organize  and  establish, 
a  government  of  means,  a  government  of  prestige  and  power,  and 
with  unlimited  credit  and  immense  resources.  The  United  States 
could  afford  to  maintain  as  many  prisoners  as  it  would  capture  of 
the  Confederate  armies. 

They  could  draw  from  the  whole  world  for  both  men  and  money 
to  meet  their  demands  in  emergency. 

They  could  and  did  hire  foreigners  as  soldiers  for  bounty,  while 
native  Southern  men  went  to  war  without  hire. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  533 

The  total  number  of  Federal  prisoners  captured  by  the  Confed 
erates  was  270,000,  by  the  report  of  Surgeon  General  Barnes,  as 
quoted  by  Congressman  Hill  in  his  famous  reply  to  Blaine,  as 
shown  by  the  official  records  in  the  War  Department  at  Washing 
ton. 

The  whole  number  of  Confederate  prisoners  captured  by  the 
Federals  was  220,000.  At  once  it  is  seen  that  the  Federals  were 
50,000  more  than  the  Confederates. 

The  number  of  Federals  who  died  in  Confederate  prisons  was 
22,576,  and  the  number  of  Confederates  who  died  in  Federal 
prisons  was  26,436.  So  it  appears  by  official  records  that  more 
than  12  per  cent,  of  the  Confederate  prisoners  in  Federal  prisons 
died  and  less  than  9  per  cent,  of  the  Federal  prisoners  in  Con 
federate  prisons  died,  notwithstanding  the  difference  and  dis 
parity  in  means  and  resources  between  the  North  and  South, 
considering  the  superior  advantages  of  the  North  over  the  South 
for  the  proper  care  of  prisoners. 

PRISON  POINTS. 

In  the  North  were  numerous  places  for  prisoners.  They  were 
located  at  points  as  follows: 

Alleghany,  Pa. ;  Alton,  111. ;  Camp  Cutler,  111. ;  Camp  Chase,  O. ; 
Camp  Douglas,  111. ;  Camp  Morton,  Ind. ;  Elmira,  N.  Y. ;  Fort 
Columbus,  N.  Y.;  Fort  Lafayette,  N.  Y.;  Fort  Warren,  Md.; 
Fort  Wood,  N.  Y.;  Fort  Pickens,  Fla.;  Point  Lookout,  Md.; 
Eock  Island,  111. ;  Johnson's  Island,  O. ;  Louisville,  Ky. ;  Mem 
phis,  Tenn. ;  Nashville,  Tenn. 

In  this  essay  it  is  unnecessary  to  specify  the  number  of  pris 
oners  in  each  station,  as  they  were  distributed  to  suit  the  wishes 
and  conveniences  of  the  government,  presumably  for  their  own 
convenience  for  supplies,  guards,  and  facility  for  keeping. 

In  the  South  prisons  were  located  at  Americus,  Ga. ;  Camp 
Sumter,  Andersonville,  Ga. ;  Cahaba,  Ala. ;  Camp  Lawton,  Millen, 
Ga. ;  Camp  Oglethorpe,  Macon,  Ga. ;  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  Florence, 
S.  C.;  Columbia,  S.  C.;  Charlotte,  N.  C.;  Salisbury,  N.  C.; 
Raleigh,  N.  C.;  Danville,  Va.;  Richmond,  Va.;  Belle  Isle,  Castle 
Thunder,  Crews,  Libby,  Pemberton's,  Scott's,  Smith's  Factory. 

The  supposition  is  likewise  that  these  places  were  selected  for 
the  convenience  of  the  Confederate  government  for  purposes  of 


534  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

safety  from  raids  for  the  release  of  prisoners  and  for  proper  care 
of  prisoners. 

The  prison  at  Anderson ville,  called  Camp  Sujnter,  was  the  most 
noted  of  all  the  Confederate  prisons.  In  this  prison  were  more 
Union  prisoners  and  more  suffering  than  in  any  other  prison  in 
the  Confederate  States.  There  Captain  Henry  Wirz  was  in  com 
mand,  and  to  him  has  been  charged  the  alleged  cruelties  and 
crimes  at  the  prison. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  was  much  suffering  in  this 
prison,  but  it  is  hardly  true  that  Captain  Wirz  was  responsible 
for  all  of  it,  if  for  any. 

He  was  Swiss  by  birth,  a  physician  by  profession,  and  he  came 
to  America  long  before  the  war  and  located  in  New  Orleans,  La. 
He  entered  the  Confederate  army  and  was  severely  wounded  in  a 
battle,  so  as  to  bar  him  from  active  field  service.  He  was  assigned 
and  detailed  for  duty  as  commanding  officer  at  Andersonville 
prison. 

After  the  surrender  he  was  charged  by  the  Federal  authorities 
with  various  crimes  at  the  prison.  He  was  taken  to  Washington 
city,  and  there  held  to  trial  by  a  military  court,  which  condemned 
him  to  be  hung,  and  he  was  executed  on  the  10th  of  November. 
1865. 

The  military  court  which  tried  and  condemned  Confederate 
Captain  Henry  Wirz  was  presided  over  by  General  Lewis  Wal 
lace,  who  subsequently  became  the  famous  author  of  the  book 
known  as  "Ben  Hur,"  which  has  been  published  in  numerous  edi 
tions  and  read  by  thousands  of  our  people.  The  work  was  also 
dramatized  and  presented  on  theatrical  stages  to  the  interest  of 
many  thousands  of  people  and  vast  assemblies  of  spectators.  I 
wonder  if  any  of  them  ever  thought  of  the  author  of  "Ben  Hur" 
as  the  same  man  and  officer  who  ruled  in  the  military  court  that 
tried  and  condemned  Confederate  Captain  Henry  Wirz. 

The  circumstances  of  the  Confederate  government  rendered  it 
practically  impossible  to  give  the  prisoners  all  of  their  necessities. 
Captain  Wirz  was  condemned  and  hung  as  a  cruel  felon.  His 
cruel  judge  lived  on  and  became  famous.  Does  it  not  really  seem 
like  the  irony  of  fate  ? 

The  United  States  was  in  better  condition  and  with  more 
favorable  circumstances  for  the  proper  care  of  prisoners,  yet  they 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  535 

allowed  our  Confederate  soldiers  to  suffer  severely,  many  of  them 
being  put  to  death  without  cause  or  reason.  Many  of  them  died 
from  starvation  and  freezing,  as  occurred  at  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  Fort 
Delaware,  Del.,  and  at  Sandusky  (Johnson's  Island),  Ohio. 

At  Sandusky  and  Chicago  sfre  large  cemeteries  of  our  men  who 
died  in  these  prisons.  Brave  patriots  of  the  Southland,  they  were 
true  to  the  last,  and  they  now  rest  in  these  cemeteries  in  view  of 
those  who  opposed  their  cause,  as  though  they  are  to  be  silent 
sentinels  on  guard  forever  for  Southern  manhood  and  courage, 
fidelity  and  fortitude,  honor  and  heroism. 

Indeed,  it  seems  appropriate  and  timely  that  the  United  States 
should  adopt  the  suggestion  of  the  lamented  President  McKinley, 
that  the  Federal  government  "should  share  with  us  in  the  care  of 
Confederate  soldiers'  graves."  He  said,  "Every  soldier's  grave 
made  during  our  unfortunate  Civil  War  is  a  tribute  to  American 
valor." 

It  is  simply  a  tale  of  horror  to  read  now  the  official  reports  of 
the  lives  of  Confederate  soldiers  in  prison.  A  significant  fact 
with  regard  to  the  records,  that  in  the  reports  of  the  superinten 
dents  of  prisons,  under  the  headings  of  "conduct"  almost  inva 
riably  show  "good"  and  "very  good."  Let  us  contrast  these 
reports  of  uniform  good  conduct  of  Confederates  in  prison  with 
the  severity  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  treated  by  their 
cruel  guards.  For  men  whose  behavior  was  "good"  to  be  treated 
as  they  were  was  simply  wanton  cruelty  without  cause. 

The  South  had  a  double  duty  imposed  upon  it,  in  the  case  of 
prisoners  in  their  prisons,  and  it  also  contributed  to  the  comfort 
of  Confederate  soldiers  in  Northern  prisons. 

The  Confederate  government  sent  large  quantities  of  cotton  to 
the  North  to  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  to  be  applied  for  the  pur 
chase  of  supplies  for  the  Confederates  in  prison. 

Confederate  General  William  N.  R.  Beall  was  in  a  Yankee 
prison.  He  was  released  on  parole  of  honor  and  was  designated 
for  the  purpose  of  receiving  and  selling  the  cotton  and  buying 
supplies  and  distributing  them  amongst  the  prisoners  at  various 
prisons. 

Eight  hundred  and  thirty  bales  of  cotton  sent  to  New  York, 
after  being  properly  prepared  for  market,  sold  at  public  auction 
February  8th,  1865,  at  an  average  price  of  82  cents  per  pound, 


536  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

netted  $331,789.66,  which  sum  was  used  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
supplies  for  our  prisoners  in  Northern  prisons. 

On  August  8,  1864,  General  U.  S.  Grant  sent  a  telegram  to 
General  Butler  as  follows : 

"On  the  subject  of  exchange,  however,  I  differ  with  General 
Hitchcock.  It  is  hard  on  our  men  held  in  Southern  prisons  not  to 
release  them,  but  it  is  humanity  to  those  left  in  the  ranks  to  fight 
our  battles.  To  commence  a  system  of  exchange  now  which  lib 
erates  all  prisoners  taken,  we  will  have  to  fight  on  until  the  whole 
South  is  exterminated.  If  we  hold  those  already  caught  they 
amount  to  no  more  than  so  many  dead  men.  At  this  particular 
time,  to  release  all  rebel  prisoners  would  insure  Sherman's  defeat 
and  compromise  our  safety  here." 

After  abundant  and  indubitable  proofs,  the  responsibility  for 
the  suffering  of  prisoners  North  and  South  has  been  laid  upon 
the  authorities  of  the  United  States  government,  and  there  let  it 
abide  in  history. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  537 


REGIMENTAL  ROLLS  OF  OFFICERS 

First  S.  C.  Cavalry :  Colonel — John  L.  Black.  Captains — Co. 
A,  M.  T.  Owens;  Co.  B,  N.  Nesbitt;  Co.  C,  T.  W.  Whatley ;  Co.  D, 
J.  S.  Wilson;  Co.  E,  J.  D.  Trezevant;  Co.  F,  Elam  Sharpe; 
Co.  G,  L.  J.  Johnson;  Co.  H.  K.  C.  Jones;  Co.  I,  K.  P.  Fox; 
Co.  K,  Lieut.  F.  A.  Sitgreaves. 

(From  Rolls.) 

"First  Regiment  Cavalry :  Colonel — J.  L.  Black.  Lieutenant- 
Colonels— J.  D.  Twiggs,  W.  A.  Walker.  Major— Niles  Nesbitt. 
Adjutant — C.  H.  Ragsdale.  Sergeant-Major — Ed.  Yarborough. 
Quartermasters — H.  L.  Mason,  James  Henderson.  Commissary— 
W.  A.  Peden.  Surgeons — Charles  Pinckney,  Joseph  Yates. 
Assistant  Surgeons —  -  Sams,  -  —  Whaley.  Chaplain — 

Richard  Johnson.  Hospital  Steward Penney.  Ordnance 

Sergeant — Ed.  Sharpe.  Chief  Buglers — John  Small,  Sr.,  Charles 
Franklin.  Musician — Jesse  Gladden.  Captains — Co.  A,  M.  T. 
Owens,  S.  H.  Jones;  Co.  B,  Miles  Nesbit,  W.  J.  Leake;  Co.  C, 
J.  D.  Twiggs,  Thos.  W.  Whatley;  Co.  D,  W.  A.  Walker,  John  F. 
Wilson;  Co.  E,  J.  D.  Trezevant;  Co.  F,  Elam  Sharp,  A.  T.  Clay 
ton;  Co.  G,  L.  J.  Johnson;  Co.  H,  Robert  Ap.  C.  Jones;  Co.  I, 
John  R.  C.  Fox,  Fred  Horsey ;  Co.  K,  Angus  P.  Brown." 

Second  Regiment  of  Cavalry:  Colonel — M.  C.  Butler.  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel — Frank  Hampton.  Major — Thos.  J.  Lipscomb. 
Co.  A,  from  Kershaw,  Capt.  John  Chestnut ;  *Co.  B,  from  Beau 
fort,  Capt.  Thos.  E.  Screven;  Co.  C,  from  Richland,  Capt.  John 
Meighan;  Co.  D,  from  Charleston,  Capt.  J.  C.  McKewn;  Co.  E, 
from  Spartanburg,  Capt.  A.  H.  Dean;  Co.  F,  from  Pickens, 
Capt.  J.  W.  Gary;  Co.  H,  from  Richland,  Capt.  Jas.  P.  McFie; 
Co.  I,  from  Edgefield,  Capt,  J.  H.  Clarke;  Co.  K,  from  Green 
ville,  Capt.  L.  Williams. 

Adjutant  J.  W.  Moore's  memorandum : 

"The  Second  Regiment  of  Cavalry  was  composed  of  1st,  Hamp 
ton  Legion  Cavalry  (four  troops) ;  2nd,  Easley's  Squadron  (four 
troops) ;  3rd,  two  independent  troops,  Boy  kin  Rangers,  Capt. 


538  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

A.  H.  Boykin ;  Bonham  Light  Dragoons,  Capt.  Thos.  J.  Lipscomb. 
Its  organization  was  completed  at  Urbana,  Maryland,  9th  Septem 
ber,  1862,  while  in  the  field.  The  last  troop  (Boy kin's)  reported 
that  day.  M.  C.  Butler,  Colonel;  Frank  Hampton,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel;  Thos.  J.  Lipscomb,  Major;  James  W.  Moore,  Adjutant; 
James  N.  Lipscomb,  Quartermaster;  Smith  B.  Blocker,  Com 
missary;  B.  W.  Taylor,  Surgeon;  H.  W.  Moore,  Assistant  Sur 
geon.  Troop  A,  Capt.  A.  B.  Boykin  (afterwards  John  A.  Chest 
nut)  ;  Troop  B,  Capt.  Thos  E.  Screven  (subsequently  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel);  Troop  C,  Capt.  John  Meighan;  Troop  D, 
Capt.  J.  C.  McKewn;  Troop  E,  Capt.  A.  H.  Dean;  Troop  F, 
Capt.  John  Westfield ;  Troop  G,  Capt.  J.  Wister  Gary ;  Troop  H, 
Capt.  Jas.  P.  McFie;  Troop  I,  Capt.  T.  H.  Clark;  Troop  K, 
Capt.  Leonard  Williams." 

"Fourth  S.  G.  Cavalry:  The  Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry 
was  organized  into  a  regiment  December  16,  1862,  by  consol 
idating  the  battalions  of  Major  William  Stokes  and  Major  W.  P. 
Emanuel,  of  four  companies  each,  and  the  Charleston  Light 
Dragoons,  Capt.  B.  H.  Rutledge's  company,  and  Capt.  Thos. 
Pinckney's  company,  aggregating  some  1,000  men;  with  B.  H. 
Rutledge,  Colonel;  William  Stokes,  Lieutenan t- Colonel ;  W.  P. 
Emanuel,  Major;  G.  E.  Manigault,  Adjutant;  I.  McP.  Gregorie, 
Surgeon;  Chas.  Dupont,  Assistant  Surgeon;  J.  W.  McCurry, 
Quartermaster;  A.  P.  Lining,  Commissary;  A.  J.  Burton,  Ser 
geant  Major;  Hugo  G.  Sheridan,  Ordnance  Sergeant;  —  Cordes, 
Commissary  Sergeant.  Co.  A,  from  Chesterfield,  Capt.  Henry 
Mclver;  Co.  B,  from  Chester  and  Fairfield,  Capt.  O.  Barber; 
Co.  C,  from  Pickets,  Oconee  and  Anderson,  Capt.  J.  C.  Calhoun ; 
Co.  D,  from  Georgetown  (mainly),  Capt.  Thos.  Pinckney;  Co.  E, 
from  Marlboro  (mainly),  Capt.  P.  L.  Breeden;  Co.  F,  from 
Marion  (mainly),  Capt.  W.  C.  Hewit;  Co.  G,  from  Colleton  and 
Orangeburg,  Capt.  W.  P.  Appleby;  Co.  H,  from  Lancaster 
(mainly),  Capt.  John  C.  Foster;  Co.  I,  from  Williamsburg 
(mainly),  Capt.  S.  J.  Snowden;  Co.  K  (Charleston  Light  Dra 
goons),  from  Charleston,  Capt.  R.  H.  Colcock.  The  former  cap 
tains  of  the  companies,  and  captains  who  succeeded  some  of  these 
in  command  at  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  can  be  found  on 
the  company  rolls. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  539 

(From  Rolls.) 

"Fourth  S.  C.  Cavalry:  Colonel— B.  H.  Rutledge.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel — William  Stokes.  Major — W.  P.  Emanuel.  Adjutant- 
Gabriel  E.  Manigault,  Surgeon — Isaac  McP.  Gregorie.  Assis 
tant  Surgeon — Charles  Dupont.  Quartermaster — I.  W.  McCurry. 
Commissary — Arthur  P.  Lining.  Sergeant-Major — Allen  J.  Ben- 
ton.  Ordnance  Sergeant — Hugo  G.  Sheridan.  Commissary  Ser 
geant—  — Cordes.  Captains — Co.  A,  Jas.  C.  Craig;  Co.  B. 
Osborne  Barber ;  Co.  C,  John  C.  Calhoun ;  Co.  D,  Thos.  Pinckney ; 
Co.  E,  W.  P.  Emanuel,  Henry  Edens,  P.  L.  Breeden;  Co.  F. 
D.  Monroe,  H.  Godbold,  W.  C.  Hewett,  W.  B.  Evans;  Co.  G. 
Wm.  Stokes,  Wm.  P.  Appleby;  Co.  H,  J.  D.  Mcllwain,  W.  J. 
Mcllwain,  J.  C.  Foster;  Co.  I,  John  Watson,  G.  P.  Nelson,  S.  J. 
Snowden;  Co.  K,  B.  H.  Rutledge,  R.  H.  Colcock." 

The  Fifth  S.  C.  Cavalry  was  organized  on  the  18th  January. 
1863,  by  the  consolidation  of  Major  Jeffords'  and  Major  Morgan's 
battalions  of  four  companies  each,  and  Captain  Whilden's  and 
Captain  Harlan's  companies,  with  an  aggregate  of  1,200  men. 
Colonel,  S.  W.  Ferguson:  Lieutenant- Colonel,  R.  J.  Jeffords; 
Major,  J.  H.  Morgan.  Co.  A,  from  Orangeburg,  Capt.  J.  C. 
Edwards;  Co.  B,  from  Charleston,  Capt.  A.  B.  Mulligan;  Co.  C, 
from  Colleton,  Capt.  W.  G.  Smith ;  Co.  D,  from  Charleston,  Capt. 
Zimmerman  Davis;  Co.  E,  from  Charleston,  Capt.  L.  A.  Whilden; 
Co.  F,  from  Lexington,  Capt.  A.  H.  Caughman;  Co.  G,  from 
Charleston,  Capt.  B.  W.  McTureous;  Co.  H,  from  Sumter,  Capt, 
R,  M.  Skinner;  Co.  I,  from  Barnwell  and  Orangeburg,  Capt. 
T.  W.  Tyler;  Co.  K,  from  Spartanburg  and  Union,  Capt.  J.  C. 
Harlan. 

Colonel  Zimmerman  Davis  furnishes  the  following  regimental 
sketch  Fifth  Regiment  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  organized  Jan 
uary  18,  1863 : 

"S.  W.  Ferguson,  Colonel;  Robert  I.  Jeffords,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  ;  Joseph  H.  Morgan,  Major.  Composed  of  Major  Jeffords' 
battalion  of  four  companies,  Major  Morgan's  battalion  of  four 
companies,  and  the  two  companies  of  Captain  Whilden  and  Cap 
tain  Harlan,  as  follows:  Co.  A,  Capt.  J.  C.  Edwards,  Orange 
burg;  Co.  B,  Capt.  A.  B.  Mulligan,  Charleston;  Co.  C,  Capt. 
W.  G.  Smith,  Colleton ;  Co.  D,  Capt.  Zimmerman  Davis,  Charles- 


540  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

ton;  Co.  E,  Capt.  L.  A.  Whilden,  Charleston;  Co.  F,  Capt.  A.  H. 
Caughman,  Lexington;  Co.  G,  Capt.  B.  W.  McTureous,  Charles 
ton;  Co.  H,  Capt.  K.  M.  Skinner,  Sumter;  Co.  I,  Capt.  T.  W. 
Tyler,  Barnwell  and  Orangeburg;  Co.  K,  Capt.  J.  C.  Haiian, 
Spartanburg  and  Union.  The  aggregate  number  on  the  rolls 
being  about  1,200. 

"The  respective  battalions  and  companies  performed  duty,  in 
detached  portions,  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  from  Novem 
ber,  1861,  to  April,  1864,  s^Qme  of  them  being  engaged  in  the  bat 
tles  of  Pocotaligo,  May  28,  1862 ;  Yemassee,  October  22,  1862,  and 
Secessionville,  June  16,  1862. 

"About  July,  1863,  Colonel  Ferguson,  never  having  assumed 
command,  having  been  promoted  to  be  brigadier-general  in  the 
Army  of  the  West,  John  Dunovant  was  appointed  colonel. 

"In  April,  1864,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Virginia  to  form  a 
part  of  General  M.  C.  Butler's  brigade.  Arriving  there  by  rail  in 
advance  of  the  horses,  it  served  as  infantry,  and  performed  severe 
duty  for  several  weeks  on  the  south  of  the  James  Eiver,  between 
Richmond  and  Petersburg,  participating  in  the  battles  of  Chester 
Station,  May  10;  Drewry's  Bluff,  May  16;  Atkinson's  Farm, 
May  17;  Charles  City  Court  House,  May  24,  and  several  skir 
mishes. 

"Being  armed  with  Enfield  rifles,  this  regiment  inaugurated  the 
system  of  fighting  cavalry  as  infantry,  which  was  afterwards 
almost  universally  adopted,  and  which  gave  the  cavalry  under 
Hampton  and  Butler  so  much  celebrity. 

"On  the  28th  day  of  May,  1864,  the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth 
regiments  of  South  Carolina  cavalry  were  formed  near  Al tee's 
Station,  Va.,  into  a  brigade  under  M.  C.  Butler,  and  during  the 
campaign  that  year  in  Virginia  participated  in  the  following 
battles:  Hawe's  Shop,  May  28;  Cold  Harbor,  or  Matadequin 
Creek,  May  30 ;  Trevillian  Station,  June  11  and  12 ;  White  House. 
June  20;  Samaria  Church,  June  24;  Riddle's  Shop,  June  — ; 
Nance's  Shop,  July  5;  Sappony  Church,  June  28;  Darbytown 
Road,  August  18;  Gravelly  Run,  August  23;  Reams'  Station, 
August  25;  Wyatt's  Farm,  September  — ;  Vaughan  Road, 
September  29 ;  Cummin's  Farm,  October  1 ;  Burgess'  Mill,  Octo 
ber  27 ;  Hicksf ord,  December  8 ;  besides  a  great  number  of  skir 
mishes. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  oil 

"During  this  campaign  the  losses  of  this  regiment  were  about 
50  killed,  300  wounded  and  30  captured.  Among  the  killed  were 
Colonel  Dunovant,  who  was  promoted  to  the  temporary  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  and  Lieu  tenant- Colonel  Jeffords. 

"In  January,  1865,  Butler's  brigade  was  ordered  to  Columbia, 
S.  C.,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  remounts,  and  had  not  com 
pleted  its  reorganization  when  it  was  placed  in  Sherman's  front, 
and  from  the  14th  day  of  February,  1865,  until  the  final  surrender 
of  General  Jos.  E.  Johnston's  army  in  North  Carolina,  scarcely  a 
day  passed  in  which  this  regiment  was  not  engaged  with  the 
enemy.  It  participated  in  the  brilliant  dash  into  Kilpatrick's 
camp,  near  Fayetteville,  March  10,  and  in  the  battles  at  Benton- 
ville  and  Averysboro,  March  20  and  21.  The  casualties  on  this 
campaign  from  Columbia,  S.  C.,  to  Hillsboro,  N.  C.,  were  six 
killed,  twenty-three  wounded  and  fourteen  captured. 

"The  regiment  never  surrendered.  On  the  eve  of  the  surrender 
of  General  Johnston's  army  it  was  marched  all  night  and  the  next 
day  to  a  point  near  the  South  Carolina  line,  and  there  disbanded, 
the  men  returning  to  their  homes,  with  all  their  arms  and  equip 
ments.  At  this  time  there  were  present  for  duty  about  150 
mounted  men. 

"The  following  were  the  field,  staff  and  company  officers  at  the 
close  of  the  war:  Zimmerman  Davis,  Colonel;  J.  E.  Edwards, 
Lieutenant- Colonel;  J.  H.  Morgan,  Major;  Lieut.  Virgil  C.  Dib 
ble,  Adjutant ;  Capt.  Ellis  C.  Green,  Assistant  Quartermaster  and 
Commissary;  Capt.  H.  M.  Faust,  M'.  D.,  Assistant  Surgeon; 
Glenn  E.  Davis,  Sergeant  Major;  J.  A.  Quackenbush,  Quarter 
master  Sergeant;  A.  E.  Gadsden,  Jr.,  Commissary  Sergeant; 
Julius  P.  Browne,  Jr.,  Ordnance  Sergeant ;  W.  G.  Duval,  Bugler. 

"Company  A — Captain,  Theo.  A.  Jeffords;  Lieutenants, 
D.  Dantzler,  V.  C.  Dibble,  John  D.  Browne. 

"Company  B — Captain,  A.  B.  Mulligan;  Lieutenants,  *B.  F. 
Buckner,  J.  T.  Foster,  A.  J.  Harrison. 

"Company  C — Captain,  G.  W.  Raysor;  Lieutenants,  J.  E. 
Larrissey,  B.  Willis. 

"Company  D — Captain,  George  Tupper:  Lieutenants.  J.  P. 
DeVeaux,  George  H.  Smith. 

"Company  E. — Captain  Jos.  L.  Inglesby;  Lieutenants,  W.  C. 
Yenning,  J.  O.  Freeman. 


542  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"Company  F — Captain,  A.  H.  Caughman;  Lieutenants,  P.  H. 
Caughman,  T.  B.  Roberts. 

"Company  G — Captain,  B.  W.  McTureous ;  Lieutenants,  T.  W. 
Easterling,  J.  B.  McCants,  H.  H.  Murray. 

"Company  H — Captain,  A.  H.  Bradham;  Lieutenants,  J.  C. 
Bethune,  F.  M.  Rhame, 

"Company  I — Captain,  T.  W.  Tyler;  Lieutenants,  E.  Brooker, 
J.  M.  Whetstone,  M.  J.  Rice. 

"Company  K — Lieutenant,  F.  H.  Bates." 

(From  Rolls.) 

"Fifth  S.  C.  Cavalry:  Colonels— John  Dunovant,  T.  P.  Jef 
fords,  Zimmerman  Davis.  Lieutenant-Colonel — J.  C.  Edwards 
Adjutant — Theo.  A.  Jeffords.  Quartermaster — Ellis  C.  Green. 
Surgeon — Thos.  S.  Thompson.  Assistant  Surgeon — Henry  M. 
Faust.  Sergeant-Majors — Virgil  C.  Dibble,  Glenn  E.  Davis. 
Quartermaster  Sergeants — J.  A.  Quackenbush,  Alex.  E.  Gads- 
den,  Jr.  Ordnance  Sergeant — Julius  P.  Brown.  Farrier — P. 
Mclnnes.  Bugler — W.  G.  Duval.  Color  Bearer — J.  J.  Scott. 
Captains— Co.  A,  T.  A.  Jeffords;  Co.  C,  G.  W.  Raysor;  Co.  D, 
Robert  J.  Jeffords,  George  Tupper;  Co.  E,  Jos.  L.  Inglesby; 
Co.  F,  Wesley  F.  Caughman;  Co.  G,  William  Disher;  Co.  H, 
William  Nettles,  E.  M.  Bradham;  Co.  I,  J.  W.  Reed,  P.  A. 
Raysor." 

The  Sixth  S.  C.  Cavalry :  Lieutenant  Alfred  Aldrich  furnishes 
the  following  statement  of  this  organization : 

"Colonel — Hugh  K.  Aiken.  Lieutenant- Colonel — L.  P.  Miller. 
Major — T.  B.  Ferguson.  'Quartermaster — Richard  Ward.  Com 
missary — E.  H.  Frost.  Surgeon — Frank  Calhoun.  Assistant 
Surgeon — Lewis  Grimball.  Adjutant — Robert  Aldrich. 

"Company  A — Captain,  M.  A.  Sullivan;  First  Lieutenant, 
J.  Harvey  Woods;  Second  Lieutenant,  J.  Mims  Sullivan;  Third 
Lieutenant,  John  M.  Sullivan. 

"Company  B — Captain,  Lewis  Jones;  First  Lieutenant,  James 
J.  Gregg;  Second  Lieutenant,  John  M.  Ward;  Third  Lieutenant, 
John  Bauskett. 

"Company  C — Captain,  Peter  W.  Goodwin;  First  Lieutenant, 
Robt.  W.  Kennedy;  Second  Lieutenant,  R.  S.  Cobb;  Third  Lieu 
tenant,  Walter  Bailey. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  543 

"Company  D — Captain,  Wm.  M.  Hale ;  First  Lieutenant,  Rob 
ert  E.  Evans;  Second  Lieutenant,  A.  Austin;  Third  Lieutenant, 
Wm.  H.  Rich. 

"Company  E — Captain,  Jas.  P.  Knight;  First  Lieutenant, 
W.  D.  Evans;  Second  Lieutenant,  Joseph  W.  Goodgion;  Third 
Lieutenant,  —  Lowry  (Roll,  Chas.  B.  Brooks). 

"Company  F — Captain,  M.  B.  Humphrey;  First  Lieutenant, 
A.  W.  Dozier;  Second  Lieutenant,  A.  (J.)  Nettles;  Third  Lieu 
tenant,  Alfred  Aldrich. 

"Company  G — Captain,  John  Miot;  First  Lieutenant,  E.  B. 
Clinkscales;  Second  Lieutenant,  James  Taggart;  Third  Lieuten 
ant,  John  Kennerly. 

"Company  H — Captain,  M.  Maguire;  First  Lieutenant,  H.  M. 
Rush;  Second  Lieutenant,  J.  A.  Kellar;  Third  Lieutenant,  J.  M. 
Cantwell. 

"Company  I — Captain,  Joe  N.  Whitner;  First  Lieutenant, 
Robt.  AY.  Jenkins;  Second  Lieutenant,  Honorine  H.  McClena- 
ghan ;  Third  Lieutenant,  Edward  DeBerry. 

"Company  K — Captain,  M.  J.  Hough ;  First  Lieutenant,  AAr.  P. 
Hunt;  Second  Lieutenant,  AAr.  B.  Hancock  (Roll,  J.  M.  Field)  ; 
Third  Lieutenant,  J.  M.  Hough. 

"This  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp  Preston,  near  Columbia ; 
was  ordered  to  duty  at  Adams  Run,  S.  C.,  and  served  in  defence 
of  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  till  May,  1863,  assisting  under 
General  Colquitt  in  repelling  an  advance  of  the  enemy  on  the 
Charleston  and  Savannah  road  via  John's  Island,  in  the  winter 
of  1863-64.  In  May,  1864,  it  was  ordered  to  Virginia,  and  took 
part  in  the  battles  and  skirmishes  of  Louisa  C.  H.,  Trevillian 
Station,  AVhite  House,  Samaria  Church,  Riddle's  Shop,  Nance's 
Shop,  Sappony  Church,  Darbytown  Road,  Gravelly  Run,  Reams' 
Station,  AVyatts'  Farm,  A^aughan's  Road,  Cumming's  Farm, 
Burgess'  Mill,  Hicks'  Ford,  and  other  minor  engagements.  This 
regiment  was  a  part  of  General  M.  C.  Butler's  Brigade.  Hamp 
ton's  Division.  In  January.  1865,  Butler's  brigade  was  ordered  to 
Columbia,  S.  C.,  and  from  the  middle  of  February  till  the  close 
of  the  war  in  April,  the  Sixth  regiment  of  cavalry  was  in  daily 
and  nightly  contact  with  General  Sherman's  forces,  participating 
in  the  battles  of  Lynclrs  Creek  (where  Colonel  Aiken  was  killed), 
Fayetteville.  Averysboro  and  Bentonville.  It  went  into  service 

35— B.   C. 


544  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

1,200  strong,  and  like  most  Confederate  regiments  was  fought  out 
to  a  frazzle." 

(From  Rolls.)  • 

Sixth  S.  C.  Cavalry :  Colonel — Hugh  K.  Aiken.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel — Lorick  P.  Miller.  Major — T.  B.  Ferguson.  Quarter 
master — Richard  Ward.  Commissary — E.  Horry  Frost.  Sur 
geons — Frank  Calhoun,  -  -  McCauley,  Lewis  Grimball.  Adju 
tant — Robert  Aldrich.  Sergeant  Majors — J.  O.  Sheppard,  Ben 
jamin  M.  Shipman.  Quartermaster  Sergeant — Milledge  B.  Ward. 
Commissary  Sergeant — S.  S.  Gibbes.  Chief  Bugler —Hoff 
man.  Captains — Co.  A,  Milton  A.  Sullivan ;  Co.  B,  Lewis  Jones, 
Jas.  J.  Gregg;  Co.  C,  Peter  W.  Goodwyn;  Co.  D,  Wm.  M.  Hale; 
Co.  E,  James  P.  Knight;  Co.  F,  Moses  B.  Humphrey;  Co.  G, 
Jno.  R.  Miot;  Co.  H,  J.  J.  Maguire;  Co.  I,  Joe  X.  Whitner; 
Co.  K,  M.  J.  Hough." 


. 
BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  545 

COLONEL  THOMAS  J.  LIPSCOMB,  "C.  S.  A." 

On  Wednesday,  November  the  4th,  1908,  the  soul  of  Thomas  J. 
Lipscomb  took  its  flight.  For  months  past  he  had  suffered  from 
a  severe  illness,  enduring  with  Christian  resignation  the  pain 
which  He,  in  His  wisdom,  placed  upon  him.  Colonel  Lipscomb 
was  born  in  Abbeville  District,  March  the  27th,  1833,  thus  pass 
ing  the  three  score  years  and  ten,  the  age  limit  almost  of  a  man's 
life.  His  student  life  was  spent  within  the  walls  of  the  historic 
South  Carolina  College  and  the  far-famed  University  of  Vir 
ginia.  He  contemplated  the  study  and  practice  of  medicine,  and 
to  that  end  entered  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
graduating  from  the  Medical  College  of  Charleston  in  1857.  Upon 
his  graduation  he  went  for  a  season  abroad.  But  the  quiet  of 
home  life  was  to  be  denied  him,  the  wrar  cloud  had  lowered  and 
the  State  he  had  been  reared  to  love  with  all  his  heart  demanded 
his  services  and  the  services  of  every  son  within  and  without  her 
borders.  To  this  demand  Thomas  J.  Lipscomb  was  quick  to 
respond,  and  at  the  commencement  of  hostilities  we  find  him 
second  lieutenant  "B"  company,  Third  Infantry,  Colonel  James 
Williams;  later  (after  the  battle  of  Bull  Run)  he  was  assigned 
to  the  staff  of  Brigadier-General  M.  L.  Bonham,  and  when  the 
latter  became  governor  he  was  transferred  to  the  staff  of  General 
Joseph  B.  Kershaw,  and  yet  again  WQ  find  him  as  an  aide-de 
camp  to  that  sturdy  old  soldier  Jubal  A.  Early. 

Returning  to  South  Carolina  he  recruited  a  company  of  cavalry 
and  was  attached  to  "Hampton's  Brigade,"  and  under  the  eyes 
of  this  officer  he  saw  what  he  desired  to  see — the  most  active 
service  in  the  field — and  earned  laurels  for  himself  and  the  gal 
lant  Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry  second  to  none  when  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy.  At  Stevensburg  he  behaved  with  much  gal 
lantry — the  colonel  being  fearfully  wounded  and  the  lieutenant- 
colonel  killed — and  on  the  field  of  Gettysburg  his  dash  and  daring 
endeared  him  to  General  Hampton,  and  though  a  rigid  discip 
linarian  (but  that  for  the  good  of  the  service),  his  men  loved  him 
and  would  have  followed  him  to  the  death.  He  was  promoted  to 
colonel  of  the  Second  Cavalry  in  September.  1863.  In  the  hottest 


546  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

engagement  he  was  ever  cool,  calm  and  collected,  and  just  here  we 
cite  an  instance  of  his  courage:  At  Gettysburg,  July  3rd,  1863. 
in  that  terrible  charge  in  which  General  Ha'mpton  was  so  des 
perately  wounded,  a  Yankee  private  charged  with  his  squadron 
directly  towards  Colonel  Lipscomb,  yelling  as  he  advanced,  "Oh, 
damn  you,  I've  got  you  now,"  the  Colonel  coolly  leveled  his  Colt's 
revolver  and  sent  a  bullet  crashing  through  his  brain. 

After  the  war,  he  returned  to  his  native  State,  having  rendered 
his  devoir  for  home  and  country.  Ruin  and  desolation  marked 
the  track  of  Sherman's  horde,  yet,  with  that  manhood  which  was 
his  birthright,  he  threw  himself  body  and  soul  into  the  work  of 
rehabilitation  and  with  the  co-operation  of  others  to  bring  order 
out  of  chaos.  His  work  in  the  exciting  period  of  1876  can  be 
readily  recalled  by  many.  His  devotion  to  Columbia,  S.  C., 
during  his  term  as  mayor  lives  fresh  in  our  memory.  Loyalty 
marked  his  whole  career. 

As  one  who  knew  him  well  informed  those  who  attended  to  pay 
the  last  tribute  to  the  dead  soldier:  "I  wish  that  you  had  been 
where  I  was  when  he  died."  The  fear  of  death  never  once  dis 
turbed  his  last  moments.  As  in  life  he  was  reckoned  among  the 
bravest  of  the  brave,  so  in  death  we  can  imagine  the  gallant 
soldier  of  "The  Lost  Cause"  whispering  as  the  world  faded  from 
his  vision : 

"Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
I  will  fear  no  evil:  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff 
comfort  me." 

Resolved,  That  the  memorial  herewith  submitted  be  spread 
upon  the  minutes  of  "Camp  Hampton,  No.  389,  U.  C.  V.",  and 
that  a  copy  of  the  same  be  handed  to  the  family. 
Eespectf ully  submitted : 

U.  R.  BROOKS,  Chmn. 
Committee:        WADE  H.  MANNING. 
JIM  RAWLS. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  547 


AIKEN'S  PARTISAN  RANGERS 

In  the  spring  of  1862  Hugh  K.  Aiken  obtained  permission  from 
President  Davis  to  organize  a  regiment  to  be  known  as  Aiken's 
Partisan  Rangers,  and  ten  companies  were  soon  enrolled  and 
reported  to  him  at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  and  before  the  regiment  was 
fully  organized  Colonel  Aiken  was  ordered  with  his  command 
to  report  to  General  Johnson  Hagood  at  Adam's  Run,  S.  C.,  and 
it  was  there  that  the  regiment  elected  officers  and  was  known  as 
the  Sixth  S.  C.  C.— Hugh  K.  Aiken  as  colonel,  L.  P.  Miller  as 
lieutenant- colonel,  and  Thos.  B.  Ferguson  as  major. 

Colonel  Aiken  appointed  Bob  Aldrich  as  adjutant  and  old 
Dick  Ward  quartermaster;  Milledge  Ward  succeeded  him. 

This  regiment  did  a  great  deal  of  hard  picket  duty  and  had 
severe  skirmishes  and  were  frequently  under  fire  from  the  Yankee 
gunboats  along  the  coast  from  John's  Island,  in  Charleston 
County,  to  Bear's  Island,  below  Jacksonboro,  in  Colleton  County. 

In  December,  1862,  Co.  B,  Capt.  Lewis  Jones,  was  sent  to  Jack 
sonboro,  and  Co.  F,  Capt.  Moses  B.  Humphries,  was  assigned  to 
duty  on  John's  Island.  Colonel  Aiken  remained  at  Adam's  Run, 
S.  C.,  Avith  the  other  eight  companies — Co.  A,  Capt.  M.  A.  Sul 
livan;  Co.  C,  Capt.  Peter  C.  Goodwyn;  Co.  D,  Capt.  Wm.  Hale; 
Co.  E,  Capt.  J.  P.  Knight;  Co.  G,  Capt.  J.  R.  Minot;  Co.  H, 
Capt.  McGuire ;  Co.  I,  Capt.  J.  N.  Whitner ;  Co.  K,  Capt.  M.  J. 
Hough. 

In  March,  1864,  we  left  the  coast  for  Virginia.  When  the  regi 
ment  reached  Columbia  the  ladies  gave  us  a  big  dinner  on  the 
Asylum  grounds,  where  General  Hampton  spoke.  In  the  midst 
of  such  a  display  of  beauty,  and  after  hearing  such  a  stirring 
speech,  and  with  such  a  feast  before  us,  we  were  confident  that 
the  Yankee  army  would  leave  Virginia  immediately  upon  our 
arrival.  One-half  of  the  men  were  furloughed,  and  upon  their 
return  the  other  half  were  allowed  a  short  leave  of  absence.  The 
first  half  carried  the  horses  through  the  country,  and  when  they 
arrived  at  Winnsboro  the  ladies  gave  them  another  big  dinner, 
and  Colonel  Aiken  was  the  orator  of  the  day.  The  last  fur 
loughed  men  went  to  Richmond  in  box  cars,  and  arrived  just 


548  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

before  the  horses  crossed  the  James  River.  When  Colonel  Aiken 
rode  at  the  head  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry  through  Richmond  the 
people  would  say,  "What  brigade  is  that?"  ^ 

On  the  28th  May,  1864,  the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  Cavalry 
were  organized  as  Butler's  Brigade. 

Colonel  Aiken  of  the  Sixth,  Lieutenant- Colonel  Jeffords  of  the 
Fifth,  and  Colonel  Rutledge  of  the  Fourth,  were  all  at  Trevillian. 

As  I  remember,  on  Saturday,  the  llth  day  of  June.  Colonel 
Aiken  opened  the  fight,  and  about  12  o'clock  Colonel  Aiken  was 
shot  through  the  right  lung  and  left  on  the  field  for  dead.  Major 
Ferguson  took  command  and  then  General  Hampton  rode  up  and 
ordered  us  to  mount  and  follow  him.  While  sitting  on  his 
splendid  charger  "Butler,"  with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  he  looked 
just  as  his  statue  does  now  on  the  State  House  grounds.  The  men 
thought  it  a  great  honor  to  be  led  by  General  Hampton  in  a 
charge.  Company  B  rode  just  behind  him  (John  Bauskett  com 
manding),  and  we  saved  Hart's  battery.  The  Yankee  line  was 
broken  before  the  sabre  could  be  used.  General  Hampton 
emptied  two  saddles  with  his  own  pistol.  In  1901  I  asked  General 
Hampton  how  many  he  had  killed  in  the  war,  and  he  said, 
"Eleven,  two  with  my  sword  and  nine  with  my  pistol."  I  said, 
"How  about  the  two  at  Trevillian?"  "Oh,"  he  said,  "I  did  not 
count  them,  they  were  running." 

Colonel  Aiken  returned  to  the  regiment  about  the  16th  Sep 
tember,  when  Hampton  and  Butler  took  Grant's  cattle  at  City 
Point.  Colonel  Aiken  took  command  of  the  brigade  about  4 
o'clock  1st  October,  when  General  Dunovant  was  killed,  and  was 
in  command  on  27th  October,  1864,  at  the  battle  of  Burgesse's 
Mill,  where  Major  Hart  lost  his  leg.  Major  Barker  was  wounded 
at  the  Big  Oak  Tree.  Preston  Hampton  was  killed.  Colonel 
Aiken  was  still  in  command  of  the  brigade  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  below  Kelly  town,  in  Darlington. 

On  the  24th  February,  1865,  General  Butler  being  at  Kelly- 
town,  ordered  Colonel  Aiken  to  take  a  regiment  and  proceed  down 
the  east  bank  of  Lynche's  Creek  and  ascertain  if  any  portion  of 
Sherman's  army  had  crossed  into  Darlington  County.  Colonel 
Aiken  selected  the  Fifth  S.  C.  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Zimmerman  Davis.  On  the  road  to  DuBose's  bridge  Colonel 
Aiken  met  a  picked  body  of  men  commanded  by  Lieutenant  John 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  549 

A.  McQueen,  Fifteenth  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  led  the  charge  with 
Colonel  Davis  by  his  side,  and  it  being  dark  the  men  got  into 
close  quarters,  and  Colonel  Aiken  was  captured,  but  jerked  the 
reins  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Yankee  who  held  them,  and  escaped, 
and  rode  up  to  Colonel  Davis  and  dismounted,  but  was  hit  by  one 
of  the  parting  shots  of  the  enemy  and  cried  out,  "Davis,  I  am 
dying,  catch  me."  Thus  ended  the  career  of  one  of  the  bravest 
and  most  gallant  of  the  old  brigade. 


550  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 


SPEECHES  MADE  AT  UNVEILING  OF  HAMPTON 

MONUMENT 

SPEECH  OF  HON.  M.  A.  MORGAN. 

Governor  Hey  ward :  The  Commission  you  appointed  by  virtue 
of  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  to  erect  an  equestrian  statue 
to  the  memory  of  Wade  Hampton  has  discharged  that  duty,  and 
wishes  to  make  its  final  report  to  you. 

We  are  so  pleased  with  the  honor  of  the  appointment  that  we 
failed  for  the  moment  to  grasp  the  extent  of  the  responsibility 
imposed.  As  was  natural,  we  hastened  to  the  performance  of  an 
agreeable  undertaking  and  procured  the  Act  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  make  it  our  chart  in  the  task  set  before  us.  You  can 
imagine  our  sense  of  helplessness  when  we  found  that  the  Act 
contained  no  hint  or  suggestion  of  what  the  monument  should  be, 
save  that  it  must  be  equestrian. 

We  realized  that  the  memory  of  the  great  chieftain,  an  illus 
trious  warrior,  the  hero  of  an  hundred  battle-fields,  must  find 
expression  in  that  statue;  that  the  Hampton  of  Reconstruction, 
the  Hampton  of  '76,  the  Hampton  as  Governor,  and  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States — citizen,  statesman  and  the  leader  and  the 
loved  of  all  Carolina's  yeomanry — must  be  crystalized  and  per 
petuated  in  the  monument  that  we  build. 

The  wide  world  of  the  sculptor's  art  lay  before  us ;  myriads  of 
forms  and  figures,  phantom-like,  sprang  into  view,  but  out  of  the 
vastness  of  it  all  we  carved  yonder  statue,  and  in  the  fulfilment 
of  the  duty  assigned  us,  we  present  it  to  you  and  through  you  to 
the  people  of  the  State. 


Mr.  Chairman  and  my  Fellow-Citizens:  This  occasion  brings 
together  patriotic  citizens  from  every  section  of  South  Carolina. 
Busy  men  have  left  all  the  important  affairs  which  absorb  their 
time  and  attention — they  have  left  all  to  come  to  the  capital  of 
their  State  and  to  take  part  in  the  exercises  which  will  again  do 
honor  to  the  memory  of  Carolina's  greatest  son. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  551 

This  occasion  brings  together  from  every  college  in  our  State 
delegations  of  young  men  and  maidens,  the  future  hope  of  our 
country.  They  have  left  their  duties  and  have  come  with  college 
presidents,  officers  and  teachers,  not  only  to  have  the  privilege  of 
sharing  in  these  exercises,  but  that  they  may  once  more  gather 
inspiration  from  the  life  and  deeds  of  him  whose  monument  now 
stands  unveiled  before  us  in  all  its  splendor. 

Today  we  have  with  us  many  of  the  soldier  boys  of  South  Caro 
lina.  They  march  with  bands  playing  and  with  hearts  beating 
with  soldierly  pride,  these  sons  of  sires  who  with  Wade  Hampton, 
under  the  Stars  and  Bars,  fought  and  bled  for  the  Lost  Cause, 
and  whose  deeds  of  heroism  gave  glory  to  Southern  manhood  and 
Southern  patriotism,  and  "advanced  the  world  in  honor." 

And  gathered  here  are  the  noble  women  of  our  State,  once  more 
to  pay  their  faithful  and  loving  tribute  to  our  great  leader,  and  in 
so  doing  to  inspire  Southern  chivalry  with  the  purest  and  loftiest 
inspirations  ever  given  to  brave  men.  They  have  come,  these 
fair  daughters  of  South  Carolina,  matrons  and  maids,  and  by 
their  presence  hallow  these  exercises,  while  the  light  of  a  sacred 
love  shines  in  their  eyes  as  they  turn  their  gaze  from  the  bronze 
horse  and  its  bronze  rider  to  yonder  oak  beneath  whose  shade  lies 
the  old  cavalier  in  the  dreamless  sleep  that  knows  no  waking. 

And  with  us  today  are  many  of  the  men  who  wrore  the  gray, 
the  unfaltering,  self-sacrificing,  glory-crowned  veterans  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  Here  are  gathered  a  few  of  the  survivors 
of  the  immortal  Hampton  Legion — that  band  of  cavalrymen, 
who,  in  all  his  battles,  in  the  rushing  whirlwind  of  the  charge, 
amidst  the  blinding  smoke  and  the  flashing  sabres,  followed  the 
plume  of  Hampton,  more  valiantly  than  ever  Frenchmen  fol 
lowed  the  helmet  of  Navarre.  Pride  should  be  with  those  old 
soldiers  today,  for  in  honoring  Hampton  we  honor  them,  and 
the  honor  which  is  his  will  be  shared  by  those  whom  he  led. 
Together  they  fought  for  home  and  country,  and  fame  has  no 
greater  heritage  for  any  than  the  halo  of  glory  which  belongs  to 
the  gray  knights  of  the  Hampton  Legion. 

There  are  here  representatives  of  all  that  has  made  our  State 
great  and  honored  in  the  past.  With  these  are  such  memories  as 
can  only  belong  to  such  a  people — memories  of  peace  and  of  war; 
memories  of  hope  and  of  despair ;  memories,  alas !  of  defeat,  but 


552  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

fadeless  memories  of  glory  and  honor.  And  so,  in  behalf  of  South 
Carolina,  in  behalf  of  all  that  we  as  a  people  liold  dear;  by  our 
memories  of  the  past  and  our  hopes  for  the  future;  by  all  that 
Hampton  did  for  the  State  he  loved  so  well,  Senator  Marshall  and 
gentlemen  of  the  Commission,  I,  as  Governor,  proudly  accept  this 
magnificent  bronze  statue  of  our  great  warrior  and  statesman, 
whose  cherished  memory  it  will  be  the  pride  of  South  Carolinians 
to  transmit  to  their  children's  children  through  all  generations 
yet  to  come. 

And  now,  my  countrymen,  I  have  only  to  add  words  that  are 
unnecessary  for  a  South  Carolina  audience.  It  is  meet  and  proper 
that  on  this  occasion  extended  tribute  should  be  paid  to  a  life 
given  in  service  to  his  State ;  it  is  meet  and  proper  that  some  of 
the  deeds  both  in  peace  and  war  which  added  lustre  to  the  name 
of  Hampton,  even  as  they  added  renown  to  the  State,  should  be 
recounted  today. 

And  could  yonder  silent  bronze  figure  speak;  could  the  voice 
of  friendship  be  heard  once  more,  and  the  spirit  of  him  who 
sleeps  so  quietly  in  old  Trinity  churchyard  inspire  us — all  of 
these  would  ask  that  only  one  who  had  stood  side  by  side  with 
him  in  peace  and  in  war,  in  victory  and  in  defeat,  in  sunshine 
and  in  shadow,  should  speak  to  us  of  Hampton  and  of  his  deeds. 
We  have  with  us  one  who  with  Hampton  wore  the  uniform  of 
gray ;  who  rode  by  his  side  during  the  four  long  years  of  deadly 
struggle;  who  during  the  trying  days  of  Reconstruction  worked 
with  him  for  the  redemption  of  our  State,  and  who,  when  redemp 
tion  came,  sat  with  him  for  years  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  Of  him  Hampton 'once  said  to  a  gentleman  now  seated 
upon  this  platform  and  a  member  of  this  Commission:  "Butler 
was  the  coolest  man  in  danger  and  the  grandest  man  in  a  fight 
I  ever  saw." 

I  now  take  pleasure  in  presenting  to  this  great  concourse  Major- 
General  M.  C.  Butler,  the  orator  of  the  day. 


[The  address  of  General  M.  C.  Butler  to  the  veterans  of  the 
Confederacy  and  the  South  Carolinians  in  general  gathered  at 
the  unveiling  of  the  monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  General 
Wade  Hampton  is  a  contribution  to  the  written  history  as  well  as 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  558 

an  eloquent  tribute  to  General  Hampton  and  to  the  Confederate 
soldiers.] 

This  splendid  pageant,  made  up  of  the  remnant,  the  survivors 
of  the  incomparable  armies  of  the  Confederacy,  reinforced  by  the 
gallant  State  National  Guard,  a  later  generation  of  citizen- 
soldiers,  and  the  great  concourse  of  people  from  all  sections  of  the 
State,  is  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  illustrious  citizen-soldier  and 
statesman  whose  monument  we  unveil  today.  I  trust  I  shall  not 
be  charged  with  exaggeration  or  undeserved  State  pride  when  I 
say  this  little  State  of  ours  has  produced,  according  to  population 
and  geographical  area,  as  many  very  distinguished  men,  who 
have  served  their  country  faithfully  and  well,  as  any  of  her  sister 
commonwealths,  more  than  many  of  them. 

No  higher  encomium  can  be  conferred  upon  a  man  than  to  say 
he  was  an  illustrious  citizen  of  a  great  State,  that  State  an  inte 
gral  part  of  a  constitutional  republic  of  limited  powers,  founded 
upon  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  "the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned,"  as  against  the  sovereignty  of  the  king. 

Such  a  citizen  in  such  a  State  is  endowed  with  the  "divine 
right"  to  rule — and  assumes  with  that  right  the  responsibilities 
and  obligations  that  attach  to  all  rulers  in  government. 

The  object  of  our  profound  respect  and  admiration,  General 
Wade  Hampton,  impersonated  by  this  beautiful  and  enduring- 
statue,  was  an  ideal  example  of  that  citizenship  to  which  I  have 
adverted. 

It  has  been  said,  and  truly  said,  that  no  man  can  properly  and 
successfully  administer  the  a  if  airs  of  government  as  a  representa 
tive  of  sovereign  people  who  has  not  learned  to  govern  himself. 
It  is  equally  true  that  there  are  certain  essential  qualities  of 
character — among  them  self-respect,  self-control,  fidelity  in  the 
performance  of  duty,  integrity  and  genuine  courage — that  are 
indispensable  in  attaining  the  highest  point  of  true  manhood. 
General  Hampton  was  endowed  with  all  these  in  an  eminent 
degree.  The  possession  of  them,  with  a  superb  presence  and  an 
unaffected  dignity,  enabled  him  to  exercise  that  marvelous  control 
over  large  bodies  of  men  amid  turmoil  and  excitement  for  which 
he  was  so  famous. 

I  have  remarked  that  this  State  has  produced  many  very  dis 
tinguished  men. 


554  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

In  the  great  forum  of  debate,  when  the  colonies  were  preparing 
to  secede  from  the  mother  country  for  reasons  satisfactory  to 
themselves  and  organize  an  independent  government,  founded,  as 
I  have  said,  on  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  and  administered  by 
representatives  of  the  people  appointed  by  them,  we  find  the 
names  of  Rutledge,  Pinckney,  Middleton.  Pierce  Butler,  Lowndes 
and  Heyward  taking  a  conspicuous  and  commanding  part — con 
tributing  by  their  cultivated  intellects  and  patriotic  efforts  in 
establishing  a  government  experimental  in  character,  therefore 
untried  in  the  history  of  human  governments ;  their  distinguished 
colleagues  from  the  other  colonies  co-operating  zealously  and 
ably  towards  a  common  end. 

And  when  the  edict  of  rebellion  and  insurrection  was  hurled 
against  them  from  the  British  crown,  and  they  took  up  arms  to 
vindicate  their  action  and  fight  for  the  independent  government 
they  had  proclaimed  to  the  world,  we  find  added  to  this  galaxy 
of  courageous  patriots  the  names  of  Hampton,  Pickens,  Laurens, 
Marion,  Sumter  and  others  less  conspicuous  but  none  the  less 
entitled  to  our  veneration  and  respect. 

And  later,  on  the  eve  and  during  the  second  war  for  inde- 
pence,  1812,  we  find  the  names  of  Calhoun,  that  intellectual 
prodigy,  Lowndes,  William  Butler,  Hampton,  and  some  of  those 
before  mentioned,  representing  the  State  with  surpassing  ability 
in  the  civic  and  military  tribunals — always  among  the  foremost 
in  vindicating  the  rights  of  the  people,  the  States  and  the  Federal 
government.  And  further  on  dowyn  the  course  of  time,  when  that 
intellectual  battle  between  intellectual  giants  arose  and  was  con 
ducted  in  the  national  arena  over  the  powers  of  the  State  and 
Federal  governments  under  their  respective  written  Constitu 
tions  and  their  proper  Constitution,  we  may  add  the  names  of 
Hayne  and  Poinsett,  Legare  and  Pickens,  and  McDuffie,  Butler, 
Elmore,  Rhett,  Barnwell,  Thompson,  Preston,  Hammond, 
Brooks,  Bonham,  Chestnut  and  others  who  illumine  the  political 
history  of  the  times  by  their  ardent  patriotism,  surpassing  talents, 
irresistible  oratory  and  finished  scholarship. 

This,  of  course,  is  an  incomplete  roll  call  of  the  great  men  who 
in  the  past  reflected  so  much  honor  and  credit  on  themselves  and 
their  State.  South  Carolinians  may  well  pride  themselves  on  the 
record  made  by  her  distinguished  sons  in  the  legislative,  execu- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-186.5.  555 

live  and  judicial  departments  of  the  government,  State  and 
Federal,  in  the  diplomatic  and  military  service,  in  the  learned 
professions,  in  the  ministry  and  industrial  pursuits. 

This  brings  us  to  the  period,  1860,  when  the  political  debate 
ended,  and  the  controversy  conducted  with  so  much  ability, 
acrimony  and  finally  bitterness  on  both  sides  as  to  the  powers  of 
the  Federal  and  State  government  was  adjourned  to  the  battle 
field. 

General  Hampton  did  not  subscribe  to  the  doctrine  of  the  sepa 
rate  State  action  by  South  Carolina  to  secede  from  the  Union 
alone  on  the  election  of  an  anti-slavery  President,  but  he  did 
believe  that  allegiance  to  his  State  was  paramount  to  allegiance  to 
the  Federal  government,  and  when  the  issue  was  fairly  joined 
as  to  what  was  the  correct  interpretation  of  the  respective  conten 
tions  and  it  was  decided  to  settle  the  controversy  with  the  sword, 
he  did  not  hesitate  as  to  his  duty. 

Contemporaneous  opinion  of  the  right  or  wrong,  the  justifica 
tion  or  otherwise  of  secession,  is  of  no  great  value.  We  are  all 
on  both  sides  of  that  question  amenable  to  the  influences  of 
environment,  pride  of  opinion,  bias  or,  if  you  please,  prejudice. 
When  the  body  of  the  controversy,  if  I  may  be  permitted  such  an 
expression,  is  placed  on  the  dissecting  table,  in  years  to  come,  in 
the  hands  of  a  cold,  dispassionate,  political,  historical  scientist, 
he  will  decide  upon  the  evidence,  and  render  a  verdict  accord 
ingly.  For  one,  I  am  willing  to  abide  by  the  finding.  If  in  less 
than  a  half  century  after  the  event,  the  trend  of  political  power 
towards  centralization  in  the  Federal  government,  and  in  like 
proportion  has  minimized  the  powers  and  influence  of  the  States 
and  people,  it  requires  no  great  stretch  of  prophetic  opinion  to 
say  what  the  next  half  century  will  bring  forth,  and  how  wise 
and  far-seeing  the  statesman  and  publicist  were  who  struggled 
against  such  a  tendency. 

My  countrymen,  if  you  could  have  been  with  me  forty-five  years 
ago  last  June,  at  a  point  about  three  miles  north  of  where  we  now 
stand,  you  could  have  seen  the  martial  figure  of  Wade  Hampton, 
about  forty-three  years  of  age,  in  the  plenitude  of  his  vigorous 
manhood,  organizing,  equipping,  preparing  for  active  duty  in  the 
field,  a  body  of  as  fine  soldiers — the  Hampton  Legion — as  ever 
shouldered  a  musket,  drew  a  saber  or  handled  a  sponge-staff. 


556  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

The  legion  was  composed  of  eight  companies  of  infantry,  four 
troops  of  cavalry  and  two  batteries  of  horse  artillery — the  very 
flower  and  pick  of  the  patriotism  and  manhood  of  those  who 
volunteered  their  services  to  defend  their  convictions  of  right  and 
duty  to  their  State.  No  better  than  thousands  of  their  country 
men  who  adopted  the  same  line  of  action,  all  equal  to  any  soldiers 
of  any  army,  in  any  time  in  the  world's  history.  The  legions 
of  Caesar,  the  grenadiers  of  Frederick,  the  old  guard  of 
Napoleon,  the  Queen's  Guards,  the  Scotch  Highlanders  of  Great 
Britain,  were  not  their  superiors.  This  is  a  high  character  for 
the  Confederate  soldier,  but  I  make  it  deliberately  with  a  full 
knowledge  of  its  purport.  Moreover,  this  claim  is  being  more 
and  more  recognized  by  the  military  critics  of  the  world. 

The  field  and  staff  of  the  Hampton  Legion  were  Wade  Hamp 
ton,  colonel;  B.  J.  Johnson,  lieutenant-colonel,  and  J.  B.  Griffin, 
major;  adjutant,  T.  C.  Barker;  quartermaster,  Claude  L.  Good 
win;  commissary,  Thomas  Beggs;  surgeon,  John  T.  Darby; 
assistant  surgeons,  Benjamin  W.  Taylor  and  Henry  W.  Moore. 

On  the  death  of  Colonel  Johnson,  killed  at  the  First  Manassas, 
Major  Griffin  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel, 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  infantry.  Captain  M.  C.  Butler, 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  major,  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
cavalry,  and  Captain  James  Connor,  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
major,  and  assigned  to  the  infantry. 

Stephen  D.  Lee  was  captain  of  one  battery  of  horse  artillery 
and  Captain  W.  K.  Bachman  the  other.  In  the  reorganization, 
or  rather  the  separation  o,f  the  three  branches  of  the  service, 
Captain  M.  W.  Gary  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  assigned  to  the  infantry,  which  retained  the  name, 
was  subsequently  increased  to  a  regiment  with  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Gary  as  colonel.  The  four  troops  by  the  addition  of  six  troops 
was  increased  to  a  regiment  and  Major  M.  C.  Butler  was  chosen 
colonel  of  what  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Second  South 
Carolina  Cavalry.  Captain  Stephen  D.  Lee  was  promoted,  finally 
reaching  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general.  Lieutenant  James  F. 
Hart  was  made  captain  of  the  battery,  and  known  afterwards  as 
Hart's  battery,  and  with  Bachman's  was  assigned  to  different 
commands  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  The  Hampton 
Legion  furnished  to  the  Confederate  armies  two  lieutenant- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  557 

generals,  one  major-general  and  three  brigadiers.  As  a  general 
officer,  General  Hampton's  staff  consisted  of  Major  T.  G.  Barker, 
Major  H.  B.  McClellan,  Colonel  Thos.  Taylor,  Captain  Rawlins 
Lowndes,  Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor  and  Major  John  S.  Preston. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  follow  these  and  the  other  officers 
of  the  original  organization  of  the  legion  through  the  different 
grades  and  arms  of  the  service.  Suffice  it  to  say  they  all  flushed 
their  maiden  swords  under  the  splendid  leadership  of  General 
Hampton,  and,  leaving  the  present  speaker  out  of  consideration, 
they  all  distinguished  themselves  as  gallant,  valiant  soldiers  in 
their  respective  spheres  of  duty. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Hampton  Statue  Com 
mission,  when  I  did  myself  the  honor  to  accept  your  invitation 
to  deliver  the  address  of  the  occasion,  I  decided  to  devote  the  time 
allotted  to  me  to  a  review  of  General  Hampton's  military  record, 
*  and  accordingly  addressed  a  note  to  the  accomplished  military 
secretary  of  the  army,  Major  F.  C.  Ainsworth,  requesting  such 
information  as  might  be  preserved  in  the  records  of  the  War 
Department  at  Washington.  The  following  is  his  courteous 
reply,  accompanied  by  the  statement  of  the  military  service  of 
Wade  Hampton.  C.  s!  A. : 

"War  Department, 
"The  Military  Secretary's  Office. 

"Washington,  October  18,  1906. 
"General  M.  C.  Butler,  Woodlawn,  S.  C. 

"MY  DEAR  GENERAL  :  In  compliance  with  the  request  contained 
in  your  letter  of  the  15th  inst.,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  here 
with  a  statement  of  the  military  service  of  Wade  Hampton  in  the 
Confederate  States  army.  It  is  proper  to  remark  in  this  connec 
tion  that  honorable  mention  of  his  conduct  on  several  occasions 
also  appears  in  the  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Confed 
erate  Armies,  and  can  be  found  by  consulting  the  indexes  to 
Volumes  II,  XI.  XII,  XIX,  XXI,  XXV,  XXVII,  XXIX, 
XXXIII,  XXXVI,  XL,  XLVI.  and  XLVII  of  said  publication 
under  the  entry  of  his  name. 

"Very  respectfully, 

"F.  C.  AINSWORTH, 
"The  Military  Secretary/' 


558  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

AVar  Department, 
The  Military  Secretary's  Office. 

Statement  of  the  military  service  of  Wade  IJampton,  C.  S.  A. : 

Colonel,  Hampton  Legion,  South  Carolina  Volunteers,  June  12. 
1861. 

Brigadier-General,  Provisional  Army,  Confederate  States,  May 
23,  1862. 

Major-General,  Provisional  Army,  Confederate  States,  August 
3,  1863. 

Lieutenant-General,   Provisional   Army,    Confederates    States, 
February  14,  1865. 


Wade  Hampton  entered  the  military  service  of  the  Confederate 
States  as  colonel  of  the  Hampton  Legion,  South  Carolina  Volun 
teers,  June  12,  1861,  said  legion  consisting  of  eight  companies  of 
infantry,  four  companies  of  cavalry  and  two  companies  of  artil 
lery.  With  the  infantry  of  his  command,  Colonel  Hampton  par 
ticipated  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Kun,  Va.,  July  21,  1861,  where 
he  was  wounded.  He  bore  a  part  as  a  brigade  commander  in  the 
subsequent  battle  on  the  peninsula  of  Virginia,  from  the  begin 
ning  of  operations  at  Yorktown  until  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines, 
where  he  was  again  \vounded.  The  composition  of  his  brigade 
appears  to  have  been  as  follows:  Fourteenth  and  Nineteenth 
Georgia,  Hampton  Legion,  Sixteenth  North  Carolina  and 
Moody 's  (Louisiana)  battery. 

During  the  Seven  Days'  battles  he  was  in  temporary  command 
of  a  brigade  consisting  o|  the  Tenth,  Twenty-third  and  Thirty- 
seventh  Virginia  infantry  and  Wooding's  (Virginia)  battery,  but 
the  records  fail  to  show  fully  the  names  of  the  field  and  staff 
officers  of  those  organizations  at  that  time. 

On  July  28,  1862,  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  brigade 
of  cavalry  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  with  which  he 
actively  served  under  the  command  of  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  in 
the  operations  in  Maryland,  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  until 
wounded  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

From  September  9,  1863,  to  August  11,  1864,  he  was  in  com 
mand  of  a  division  of  cavalry  operating  in  northern  Virginia 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  559 

and   in  the  campaign  from  the  Wilderness  to   Richmond   and 
Petersburg. 

On  August  11,  1864,  Major-General  Hampton  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  cavalr}^  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
with  which  he  continued  until  late  in  January  or  early  in  Feb 
ruary,  1865.  On  February  7,  1865,  he  was  assigned  to  command 
Butler's  and  Young's  division  of  cavalry,  in  the  department  of 
South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Florida,  Lieutenant-General  Hardee 
commanding.  (For  copy  of  only  order  bearing  on  the  subject  of 
this  assignment  that  has  been  found  of  record,  see  Official  Records 
of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Armies,  series  1,  volume  XLVII, 
part  II,  p.  1112.)  He  was  engaged  in  resisting  the  advance  of  the 
Union  army  under  General  Sherman  through  the  Carolinas,  and 
was  present  in  the  field  at  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston's  army,  but  no  record  of  his  final  capture  or 
parole  has  been  found.  F.  C.  AINS WORTH, 

The  Military  Secretary. 

War  Department, 
The  Military  Secretary's  Office. 

Washington,  October  18,  1906. 

There  are  two  errors  in  the  foregoing;  first,  in  saying  on  Feb 
ruary  7.  1865,  General  Hampton  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  Butler's  and  Young's  division  of  cavalry.  It  should  be  But 
ler's  and  Wheeler's  division  of  cavalry.  And  second,  in  saying 
that  General  Hampton  was  present  in  the  field  at  the  time  of  the 
surrender  of  General  Jos.  E.  Johnston,  as  is  shown  by  the  follow 
ing  correspondence : 

"Chester,  27  April,  1865. 

"General  York:  Forward  following  dispatch  by  courier  to 
Breckinridge.  (Signed)  WILLIAM  PRESTON  JOHNSTON." 

"Hon.  J.  C.  Breckinridge,  Company  Shops : 

"Some  time  ago  I  notified  General  Johnston  not  to  include  me 
in  any  surrender.  You  gave  me  orders  to  move  on  (25th).  In 
return  I  find  army  surrendered;  think  I  am  free.  What  is  your 
decision?  Answer  here  at  Greensboro. 

"WADE  HAMPTON, 
"Lieutenant-General." 

36— B.   C. 


560  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"Love's  Ford,  Broad  River,  28th  April,  1865. 
"Lieutenant-General    Wade    Hampton,    Greensboro,    Lexington, 

Salisbury,  or  any  other  point  on  line :  «  . 
"Your  dispatches  of  27th  received.  The  verbal  directions  to 
you  contemplated  your  meeting  General  Johnston  and  his  action 
before  any  convention  with  enemy.  If  my  letter  to  him  of  25th 
which  you  carried  was  not  received  before  completion  of  terms, 
the  government,  with  its  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  facts,  cannot 
interfere  as  to  the  body  of  the  troops;  but  in  regard  to  yourself, 
if  not  present  nor  consenting,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  government 
that  you  and  others  in  like  condition  are  free  to  come  out. 

"JOHN  C.  BRECKINRIDGE, 

"Secretary  of  War." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  both  General  Hampton  and  General 
Wheeler  left  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston's  army  before  or  after 
it  reached  Greensboro,  X.  C.,  and  during  the  armistice  agreed 
upon  between  Generals  Johnston  and  Sherman,  intending  to  make 
their  way  to  the  Trans-Mississippi  and  join  Lieutenant-General 
Kirby  Smith  in  command  of  the  Confederate  forces  in  that 
department.  Proceeding  as  far  as  Charlotte,  X.  C.,  as  I  was 
informed  at  the  time,  they  abandoned  their  purpose  and  returned 
to  their  homes. 

I  speak  advisedly  on  this  point  because,  as  the  ranking  cavalry 
officer  in  his  army  when  the  final  terms  of  capitulation  were 
agreed  upon.  General  Johnston  appointed  me  one  of  the  com 
missioners  to  act  with  Major-General  Hartzoff,  appointed  by 
General  Sherman,  to  sign  the  muster  rolls  of  all  the  Confederate 
cavalry  present,  and  those  rolls  must  be  on  file  in  the  war  records 
office  in  Washington. 

But,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  I  find  it  impossible  in  the 
time  which  I  can  properly  occupy  to  do  full  justice  to  the  brilliant 
military  record  of  General  Hampton.  This  would  require  a 
volume.  I  will,  therefore,  have  to  limit  myself  to  a  few  of  the 
incidents  of  his  career,  leaving  to  his  biographer  a  complete 
history  of  his  great  achievements,  both  military  and  civil,  when 
time  and  opportunity  will  enable  him  to  do  full  justice. 

Permit  me,  in  passing,  to  congratulate  you  in  securing  the 
services  of  so  accomplished  an  artist  and  sculptor,  for  the  design 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  561 

and  completion  of  this  historic  picture,  and  to  congratulate  him, 
Mr.  Kuckstuhl,  on  the  taste  and  ability  shown  by  him  in  his  work. 
The  appearance,  the  pose,  the  ornamentation,  the  artistic  pro 
portions,  the  likeness,  the  mounted  attitude,  are  as  near  perfect  as 
it  seems  to  me  human  efforts  and  ingenuity  can  make  them.  I 
find  the  following  inscriptions  are  engraved  on  the  body  of  the 
monument : 

West  Side. 

Erected  by  the  State  of  South  Carolina  and  Her  Citizens  to 
Wade  Hampton. 

South  Side. 

Governor  of  South  Carolina,  1876-1879.     United  States  Senator, 

1879-1891. 

Bentonville,   Brandy    Station,   Sappony   Church,   Cold  Harbor, 

Hawes'  Shop. 

East  Side. 
Born  March  28,  1818.    Died  April  11,  1902.    Erected  A.  D.  1906. 

North  Side. 

Commander  of  Hampton  Legion,  C.  S.  A. 
Trevillian,    Seven    Pines,    Burgess'    Mill,    First    Manassas, 

Gettysburg. 

The  names  refer  to  the  battles  in  which  General  Hampton  took 
a  prominent  part. 

OTHER   GREAT  BATTLES. 

These  inscriptions  are  historically  correct,  but  limited  in  the 
number  of  events  in  which  General  Hampton  bore  a  conspicuous 
part.  Necessarily,  from  want  of  space,  they  convey  a  very  faint 
idea  of  his  four  years'  military  service.  We  might  appropriately 
add,  without  doing  violence  to  the  truth  of  history,  Sharpsburg, 
Barbees'  Cross  Roads,  Martinsburg,  night  attack  on  Dahlgreen's 
column  near  Richmond,  McDowell's  Farm,  where  the  gallant 


562  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

General  John  Dunovant  was  killed  and  his  body  committed  to  the 
care  of  my  gallant  courier  boy,  U.  R.  Brooks,  who  frequently 
acted  as  one  of  my  staff  officers;  Armstrong's  Mill,  Hick's  Ford, 
Reams'  Station,  night  attack  on  Kilpatrick's  camp  in  North 
Carolina,  Fayetteville,  N.  C.  What  an  array  of  fierce  cavalry 
conflicts  arise  in  my  mind  as  I  attempt  to  enumerate  the  few  just 
mentioned.  I  have  been  often  asked  if  General  Hampton  was  a 
good  tactician.  If,  in  a  minor  technical  sense,  I  answer  to  the 
best  of  my  judgment,  "No,"  I  doubt  if  he  ever  read  a  technical 
book  on  tactics.  He  had  no  need  to.  He  was  himself  master  of 
grand  tactics.  He  knew  how  to  maneuver  the  units  of  his  com 
mand  so  as  to  occupy  for  offensive  or  defensive  action  the 
strongest  points  on  the  battlefield,  and  that  is  about  all  there  is  in 
tactics.  A  successful  strategist  has  a  broader  field  for  the  employ 
ment  of  his  military  qualities.  General  Hampton  appeared  pos 
sessed  of  almost  an  instinctive  topographical  talent.  He  could 
take  in  the  strong  strategic  points  in  the  field  of  his  operations 
with  an  accuracy  of  judgment  that  was  surprising  to  his  com 
rades.  It  was  not  necessary  for  him  to  study  Jomine  Napoleon's 
Campaigns,  and  other  high  authorities  in  the  art  of  war.  He  was 
a  law  unto  himself  on  such  matters.  According  to  the  rules  laid 
down  in  the  books,  he  would  do  the  most  unmilitary  things.  He 
would  hunt  his  antagonist  as  he  would  hunt  big  game  in  the 
forest.  The  celerity  and  audacity  of  his  movements  against  the 
front,  sometimes  on  the  flank,  then  again  in  the  rear,  kept  his 
enemies  in  a  constant  state  of  uncertainty  and  anxiety  as  to  wThere 
and  when  they  might  expect  him.  With  his  wonderful  powers  of 
physical  endurance,  his  alert,  vigilant  mind,  his  matchless  horse 
manship,  no  obstacles  seemed  to  baffle  his  audacity  or  thwart  his 
purpose.  Again  leaving  myself  out  of  the  question,  General 
Hampton  was  most  fortunate  in  selecting  his  lieutenants — Rosser 
and  Young,  two  of  his  brigade  commanders.  Young  in  years, 
superb  in  physical  and  mental  equipment,  bold,  daring,  undis 
mayed  by  the  formidable  fighting  qualities  and  forces  of  their 
antagonist,  they  would  make  a  field  marshal  of  any  superior 
officer  worthy  of  that  rank  as  General  Hampton  was. 

General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  the  splendid  dashing  corps  com 
mander,  was  killed  in  the  battle  at  Yellow  Tavern  on  the  12th 
of  Mav,  1864. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  563 

The  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  consisted 
of  three  divisions — Hampton's,  Fitz  Lee's  and  Wm.  F.  Lee's. 
General  Hampton  was  the  ranking  major-general,  and  was  by 
right  of  superior  rank,  long,  faithful  and  brilliant  service,  to 
succeed  Stuart  in  command  of  the  corps.  From  some  inexplicable 
reason,  General  Lee  did  not  at  once  assign  him  to  that  command, 
but  required  each  division  commander  to  report  directly  to  army 
headquarters.  And  now  comes  the  crucial  point  in  General 
Hampton's  military  career.  Early  in  June,  1864,  General  Grant 
had  put  in  operation  one  of  those  grand  combinations  by  which 
he  hoped  to  circumvent  and  finally  destroy  his  alert  and  great 
antagonists.  Hunter,  at  the  head  of  a  strong  column  of  infantry, 
was  making  his  way  up  the  Shenandoah  valley,  with  Lynchburg 
his  objective  point.  Early  was  sent  to  Lynchburg  to  meet  him. 
Sheridan  was  dispatched  with  his  cavalry  and  horse  artillery 
from  Grant's  right  towards  Gordonsville,  en  route,  as  it  was 
supposed,  to  form  a  junction  with  Hunter  and  approach  Rich 
mond  from  the  rear.  Almost  simultaneously  Wilson  was  sent 
from  Grant's  left  with  two  divisions  of  cavalry  and  the  usual 
complement  of  horse  artillery  to  break  General  Lee's  communi 
cations  in  that  direction  by  tearing  up  the  Southside  railroad  and 
other  sources  of  supply  for  the  army. 

General  Grant  was  meantime  to  keep  up  his  hammering  process 
against  General  Lee's  lines  with  the  main  body  of  his  army. 
This  was  the  situation  on  the  8th  of  June,  1864,  apparently  des 
perate,  as  it  would  have  been  to  any  other  than  the  marvelous 
military  genius,  Robert  E.  Lee.  Let  me  pause  to  offer  another 
communication  from  General  Ainsworth,  in  reply  to  an  inquiry 
from  me  as  to  Sheridan's  strength  at  that  time,  as  follows : 

"War  Department, 
"The  Military  Secretary's  Office. 

"Washington,  November  8,  1906. 
"General  M.  C.  Butler,  Woodlawn,  S.  C. 

"MY  DEAR  GENERAL  :  In  response  to  your  letter  of  the  5th  inst., 
in  which  you  ask  to  be  furnished  with  a  statement  of  the  strength 
of  General  Sheridan's  command  at  Trevillian  Station,  Va.,  Juno 
11  and  12,  1864.  I  have  the  honor  to  advise  as  follows : 


564  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"Nothing  has  been  found  of  record  to  show  the  actual  strength 
of  the  Union  forces  engaged  on  the  occasion  mentioned,  but  the 
official  reports  of  General  Sheridan  and  his  subordinate  com 
manders,  containing  detailed  accounts  of  the  engagement,  are 
printed  in  the  'Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate 
Armies,'  Series  1,  Volume  XXXVI,  Part  1,  pp.  787-902. 

"A  field  return  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  for  June  1,  1864, 
which  appears  on  page  209,  ibid.,  shows  an  aggregate  present  for 
duty  in  the  cavalry  corps  commanded  by  General  Sheridan  of 
12,420.  As  already  stated,  the  number  of  men  carried  into  action 
on  June  11  and  12,  1864,  has  not  been  found  of  record,  nor  is  there 
any  return  of  strength  on  file  bearing  date  between  June  1  and 
June  11, 1864.  Very  respectfully, 

"F.  C.  AINSWORTH, 
"The  Military  Secretary." 

General  Hampton  was  placed  in  command  of  two  divisions,  his 
own,  consisting  of  Butler's  (the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Sixth  South 
Carolina)  cavalry,  Rosser's  and  Young's,  the  latter  commanded 
by  Colonel  J.  G.  Wright,  colonel  of  the  Cobb  legion,  and  Fitz, 
Lee's  division,  consisted  of  the  brigades  of  Lomax  and  Wickham. 

WORK  OF  THE  SCOUTS. 

We  could  probably  have  mustered  5,000  men,  all  told,  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th  of  June,  1864,  wrhen  we  received  orders  to  have 
prepared  "three  days'  cooked  rations"  and  ready  for  "extended 
mounted  service."  That  body  of  valiant,  sleepless,  dare-devil 
cavalry  scouts  headed  by  Shadburne,  Dick  Hogan,  Hugh  Scott, 
Wallace  Miller,  Lieutenant  Bob  Shiver,  Jack  Shoolbred,  Walker 
Russell,  Phil  Hutchinson  and  others,  brought  information  to 
headquarters  of  Sheridan's  movements.  On  the  morning  of 
June  9  Hampton's  column  moved,  heading  for  Gordonsville  in 
following  order :  Rosser's,  Butler's,  Young's  brigades  in  front. 
Fitz  Lee  with  Lomax  and  Wickham  in  the  rear.  On  the  night 
of  June  10  we  bivouacked  Hampton's  division  near  Trevillian 
Station,  Fitz  Lee's  in  the  neighborhood  of  Louisa  Court  House, 
several  miles  in  the  rear.  General  Hampton's  plan  was  to  form 
a  junction  with  Fitz  Lee  at  Clayton's  Store,  near  the  South  Anna 
River.  On  the  morning  of  the  llth  of  June,  our  vigilant  scouts 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  565 

meantime  keeping  us  informed  of  Sheridan's  movements,  it 
turned  out  that  he  was  moving  in  strong  column  against  the  posi 
tion  occupied  by  Butler's  brigade.  We  were  up,  prepared  for 
mounted  action  at  daylight,  in  obedience  to  orders  of  the  day 
before.  About  a  half  hour  after  sunrise,  General  Hampton 
directed  me  to  move  in  and  attack  vigorously,  informing  me  that 
he  would  hold  Young's  brigade  in  reserve  for  emergencies;  that 
Eosser,  as  I  kneAv,  was  a  short  distance  to  our  left  on  the  Gor- 
donsville  road,  and  Fitz  Lee's  division  would  join  me  on  the  right. 
This  disposition  left  a  feeling  of  security  to  the  flanks  of  the 
brigade.  We  were  in  a  thickly  wooded  country  unfit  for  mounted 
operations,  consequently  we  dismounted  everything  except  one 
squadron,  and  opened  the  attack  on  foot  with  our  long  range 
Enfield  rifles,  and  drove  the  enemy  a  half  mile  or  more,  all  the 
time  expecting  to  hear  Lee's  guns  on  our  right.  Our  left  flank 
was  about  to  be  turned,  when  Young's  brigade  was  sent  in  to 
reinforce  it.  For  some  reason  which  I  have  never  understood  or 
had  explained,  Lee's  division  did  not  take  position,  as  I  was 
assured  it  would.  The  result  was  Custer,  of  Sheridan's  command, 
cut  around  my  right,  by  a  blind  road  which  he  discovered,  got 
into  our  rear,  and  captured  some  of  our  led  horses  and  ambu 
lances.  We  were  still  struggling  in  the  woods  with  Sheridan's 
main  line,  when  Rosser  came  thundering  down  the  road,  charged 
Custer,  recaptured  what  he  had  taken,  and  captured  a  number  of 
prisoners,  ambulances,  horses,  etc.,  from  Custer.  The  day's  fight 
could  not  have  been  satisfactory  to  either  side.  There  appeared 
to  be  a  want  of  co-operation  on  our  side  which  led  to  confusion. 
And  Sheridan  was  no  doubt  surprised  at  the  stubborn  resistance 
he  had  encountered  in  the  woods  from  the  splendid  soldiers 
behind  Enfield  rifles.  The  next  Sunday,  June  12,  General  Hamp 
ton  directed  me  to  take  command  of  his  division,  so  that  he  could 
devote  his  undivided  attention  to  both  divisions,  instructing  me 
to  take  position  on  the  railroad.  Accordingly  our  line  was  located 
on  the  crest  of  a  hill  with  gradual  slope  in  front,  the  line  stretch 
ing  to  the  left,  so  as  to  get  the  advantage  of  the  railroad  embank 
ment,  where  the  line  made  rather  a  sharp  angle.  The  Sixth  South 
Carolina  Cavalry  occupied  this  angle.  A  letter  from  General 
Hampton  to  Comrade  Calhoun  is  as  follows.  This  letter,  dated 
July  20,  1902,  reads : 


566  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

"MY  DEAR  CALHOUN  :  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  accept 
your  invitation,  for  I  should  like  to  meet  my  old  comrades  once 
more.  I  remember  the  heroic  manner  in  which  the  Sixth  regiment 
held  the  'Bloody  Angle'  at  Trevillian,  and  I  should  like  to  thank 
the  survivors  as  well  as  all  of  my  old  command,  but  I  fear  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  attend  the  reunion  at  Greenwood,  for  I  have  been 
quite  unwell  for  some  time  past;  but  should  I  be  unable  to  greet 
my  old  comrades,  let  them  be  assured  that  they  are  held  in  affec 
tionate  remembrance  and  that  their  services  are  recalled  with 
pride.  With  my  best  wishes  for  them  and  yourself, 

"Truly  yours, 

"WADE  HAMPTOIS. 

"C.  M.  Calhoun,  Greenwood,  S.  C." 

Sheridan  now  moved  up  to  atack  us  about  2  o'clock  P.  M.,  and 
from  then  until  dark  made  seven  determined  assaults  upon  our 
position.  He  again  felt  the  force  of  the  stubborn  gallantry  of  the 
men  behind  the  Enfields  and  about  dark  began  his  retreat  back  to 
Grant's  lines.  Lee's  division  came  in  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
12th  and  took  position  on  our  extreme  left. 

I  fear,  my  countrymen,  I  have  fatigued  you  with  details,  and 
the  reluctant  use  I  have  made  of  the  personal  pronoun  "I,"  but 
our  relations,  military  and  civil,  were  so  interwoven  it  has  seemed 
to  me  almost  inevitable.  I  justify  these  details  as  to  Trevillian, 
and  yet  I  have  not  told  the  half,  for  I  know  you  realize  with  me 
the  vital  importance  of  General  Sheridan's  defeat  there,  the  vital 
importance  of  the  defense  of  Richmond,  and,  in  fact,  the  security 
of  General  Lee's  army,  that  this  link  in  General  Grant's  combina 
tion  should  be  broken,  the  vital  importance  to  General  Hampton's 
military  career  that  he  should  succeed.  He  did  so  with  great  odds 
against  him,  almost  three  to  one,  odds  commanded  and  handled 
by  one  of  the  most  resourceful  and  ablest  cavalry  soldiers  in  the 
Federal  armies.  Thenceforward  General  Hampton  was  one  of 
General  Lee's  most  trusted  and  confidential  lieutenants.  Tre 
villian,  one  of  the  greatest,  most  fiercely  contested,  all-around 
cavalry  battles  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia — if  not  of  any 
army — was  an  object  lesson  for  General  Lee  in  estimating  the 
high  military  and  personal  worth  of  General  Hampton. 


CHARLEY  CALHOUN 


568  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

LEE  AND  HAMPTON  ALIKE. 

There  were  many  points  of  resemblance  in  the  characters  of 
these  two  great  men.  Both  were  superb  in  their  physical  pose  and 
development.  Both  were  self-respecting  and  respectful  and 
gracious  in  their  demeanor  towards  others.  Both  had  their  facul 
ties  under  complete  control.  Both  inspired  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  their  fellow-man.  Both  were  the  highest  type  of  gen 
tlemen,  and  both  will  "live  in  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen"  as 
long  as  great  talents  and  great  services  to  their  country  and  great 
characters  are  honored  and  respected  among  men.  Allow  me  now 
to  relate  an  incident  at  the  battle  of  Burgess'  Mill  which  unfolds 
another  quality  of  General  Hampton's  character.  General  Grant, 
in  the  latter  part  of  October,  1864,  had  dispatched  the  Second 
Army  Corps,  as  he  always  did  when  there  was  a  movement 
requiring  skill  and  ability,  under  Hancock,  "the  Superb,"  as  he 
was  justly  styled  by  all  who  knew  him,  to  make  a  bold  and  deter 
mined  effort  to  turn  General  Lee's  left. 

The  cavalry  was  guarding  the  lines  along  the  Rowanty  River. 
When  Hancock  pushed  out  in  force,  our  thin  lines  were  with 
drawn  and  moved  up  to  Burgess'  Mill.  I  took  position  on  the 
wrest  side  of  an  open  field ;  the  left  resting  at  Burgess'  mill  pond. 
My  orders  from  General  Hampton  were  that  when  the  guns  of 
Wm.  H.  F.  Lee's  division  wrere  on  my  right  we  should  move  for 
ward  and  attack  a  division  of  Hancock's  infantry  on  the  far  side 
of  the  field.  My  temporary  headquarters  were  at  the  corner  of  a 
garden  and  an  orchard.  We  were  dismounted  behind  such  breast 
works  as  could  be  improvised  on  short  notice,  and  the  command 
"forward"  extended  all  along  our  line;  the  gallant  boys  dashed 
forward,  firing  as  they  advanced,  in  a  heavy,  galling  fire  from  the 
enemy.  Shortly  afterwards  I  witnessed  a  scene  that  would  adorn 
the  canvas  of  an  artist.  Some  distance  to  the  right  I  saw  Major 
T.  G.  Barker,  adjutant-general  of  the  division,  Lieutenant  Pres 
ton  Hampton,  aide-de-camp  to  his  father,  and  Lieutenant  O.  N. 
Butler,  aide-de-camp  to  his  brother,  riding  in  the  line  of  battle 
first  advanced  firing  and  receiving  a  terrific  fire  from  the  enemy, 
waving  their  hats  by  way  of  encouragement  to  the  dismounted 
line.  Of  course,  they  had  no  business  in  such  a  perilous  position, 
especially  on  horseback,  but  there  they  were,  resolutely  and  fear- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  569 

lessly  taking  the  chances  of  life  under  such  hazardous  circum 
stances.  The  roar  of  battle  made  it  impossible  for  them  to  hear 
a  verbal  order.  Xat  Butler.  I  presume,  feeling  some  anxiety  for 
his  brother,  looked  back.  As  I  waved  my  hand  to  him  to  return, 
he  galloped  around  in  front  of  the  garden,  his  horse  receiving  a 
shot  in  the  neck.  Preston  turned  to  the  right  to  join  his  father, 
whose  headquarters  were  a  few  hundred  yards  to  our  right  rear. 
As  he  turned  he  shouted,  "Hurrah,  Nat,"  the  last  words  that 
escaped  his  lips,  and  was  shot  in  the  left  groin,  from  which  he 
died  almost  instantly.  Having  fallen  from  his  horse,  I  noticed 
a  group  to  our  right  gathered  around  some  object,  and  as  Major 
Barker  had  not  returned,  feared  he  had  received  a  wound  and 
was  disabled.  I  turned  my  horse  and  met  General  Hampton  near 
the  Burgess  dam.  I  inquired  who  was  wounded.  I  can  never 
forget  his  expression  of  anguish  and  distress  as  he  drew  his  hand 
across  his  forehead,  and  replied,  "Poor  Preston!"  "Is  he  dan 
gerously  wounded?"  I  inquired.  "Yes,  mortally."  Near  where 
we  were  talking  he  noticed  a  one-horse  wagon  under  a  shed.  He 
turned  and  said,  "Butler,  I  wish  you  would  have  that  wagon 
pulled  around  and  have  his  body  moved  out  of  the  range  of  fire." 
Wiping  away  the  tears  of  his  pathetic  affliction,  he  returned  to 
his  post  of  duty  and  remained  in  command  until  the  battle  ended 
at  nightfall  with  Hancock  driven  back. 

The  couriers  soon  carried  out  his  request.  His  comrade  that 
day,  Nat  Butler,  survived  Preston,  having  a  few  months  after 
wards  received  a  wTound  in  battle  that  required  the  amputation  of 
his  arm,  a  wound  from  which  he  never  recovered  until  his  death 
many  years  ago.  Here  were  two  boys  not  out  of  their  teens — 
handsome,  hopeful — bearing  themselves  with  a  splendid  dash  and 
courage  worthy  of  any  age  of  the  best  soldier  as  in  any  army. 

One  more  incident  of  that  battle  I  am  sure  will  interest  you. 
The  friends  and  comrades  of  Major  Barker,  General  Hampton 
and  myself  among  the  number,  had  decided  to  have  him. 
appointed  brigadier-general,  a  rank  he  had  so  worthily  earned 
by  his  long,  brilliant  and  faithful  service  on  the  staff.  Shortly 
after  the  tragic  scene  I  have  just  described,  Lieutenant- Colonel 
Jeffords,  of  the  Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  was  brought  out 
by  the  litter-bearers  dead  from  a  mortal  wound.  This  left  that 
gallant  regiment  without  a  field  officer.  Major  Barker  volun- 


570  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

teered  to  take  command  of  the  regiment.  Of  course,  consent  was 
given,  and  on  his  way  to  join  the  regiment  he  was  shot  down  in 
the  open  field,  and,  as  we  feared,  mortally  wounded,  but  here  he  is 
in  our  midst  to  enjoy  the  respect  and  admiration  of  his  friends. 
In  my  judgment,  this  wound  defeated  his  deserved  promotion. 

Passing  from  General  Hampton's  transfer  from  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  the  latter  part  of  January,  1865,  we  find  him 
a  lieutenant-general,  assigned  to  the  command  of  Wheeler's  and 
Butler's  divisions  of  cavalry,  a  command  which  he  retained  until 
the  surrender. 

There  have  been  so  many  conflicting,  untruthful  and  imaginary 
accounts  published  of  Columbia,  permit  me  to  give,  in  as  few 
words  as  possible,  the  facts  relating  to  the  military  evacuation  of 
that  doomed  city  and  the  part  played  by  General  Hampton  and 
the  troops  under  his  immediate  command.  For  a  time  it  was 
undetermined  where  Sherman  would  cross  the  Congaree  River, 
whether  lower  down  at  a  lower  ferry  and  other  crossings,  or 
continue  his  march  on  the  west  side  to  Columbia.  Butler  was, 
therefore,  ordered  with  two  brigades  of  Wheeler's  division  and  a 
part  of  his  own  to  make  a  reconnoissance  down  the  old  Charleston 
road  and  across  Congaree  Creek.  This  movement,  after  a  sharp 
encounter  with  the  head  of  Sherman's  column  some  distance 
below  Congaree  Creek,  developed  that  he  was  approaching 
Columbia  on  the  west  side.  This  was  on  the  14th  of  February, 
1865.  The  remnants  of  Hood's  army,  of  which  Wheeler's  cavalry 
was  a  part,  had  fortified  the  Lexington  hills,  and  on  the  informa 
tion  thus  obtained  moved  to  the  east  side  of  the  river  across  the 
covered  bridge.  After  the  other  commands  had  passed,  Butler 
and  the  troops  under  his  command  crossed  the  bridge  and  set  fire 
to  it.  He  was  then  ordered  below  Columbia  to  Granby,  and  from 
that  position  with  Wheaton's  battery  opened  fire  on  Sherman's 
column  and  forced  it  to  make  a  detour  to  the  left  through  the  Lex 
ington  hills.  A  strong  detachment  of  Sherman's  infantry  was 
posted  along  the  west  banks  of  the  Congaree  and  a  spirited  com 
bat  was  kept  up  for  some  time  between  the  contending  forces, 
during  which  the  battery  suffered  rather  severely  in  horses  and 
men.  Being  without  infantry  support,  the  battery  was  with 
drawn.  These  were  the  only  instances,  comparatively  insignifi 
cant  in  themselves,  when  armed  resistance  was  made  to  Sherman's 
approach  to  Columbia. 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  571 

SHERMAN   BURNED    COLUMBIA. 

Meantime,  that  venerable  gentleman  citizen,  Dr.  A.  D.  Good 
win,  as  mayor  of  the  city,  had  a  conference  with  Sherman  under  a 
flag  of  truce.  On  the  assurance  from  the  mayor  that  there  would 
be  no  resistance  to  his  crossing  the  river  and  entrance  into  the 
city,  General  Sherman  assured  him  there  would  be  no  hostile  act 
on  his  part.  On  these  facts  being  communicated  to  General 
Hampton,  he  placed  me  in  command  of  the  city,  with  instructions 
to  see  that  the  mayor's  agreement  was  faithfully  and  rigidly 
carried  out.  I  appointed  Capt.  James  P.  McFie,  a  most  accom 
plished,  prudent  and  experienced  officer,  provost  marshal  of  the 
town,  with  full  instructions  as  to  the  agreement.  It  requires  no 
assurance  on  my  part  that  he  carried  out  his  instructions  with 
painstaking  care  and  ability.  As  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  such 
of  the  Confederate  stores  as  could  not  be  removed  were  destroyed 
at  the  old  South  Carolina  Railroad  station,  a  mile,  perhaps,  from 
the  residence  and  business  portion  of  the  city.  During  the  day 
and  night  of  the  16th  of  February,  all  the  troops  had  left  in  the 
direction  of  Charlotte,  N.  C.,  as  that  was  supposed  to  be  Sher 
man's  objective  point,  except  Butler's  division.  On  the  night  of 
the  16th.  General  Hampton  had  a  conference  at  the  house  of  Gen 
eral  John  S.  Preston,  on  Blanding  street,  at  which  every  pre 
caution  was  taken  to  evacuate  the  city  as  quietly  as  possible. 
Having  been  charged  with  the  duty  of  personally  superintending 
the  movement,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  General  Hamp 
ton  left  with  Young's  brigade  of  my  division  on  the  Winnsboro 
road.  With  the  other  brigade  I  passed  up  Sumter  street  from 
near  the  State  House  into  Main  street,  and  was  posted  at  the  crest 
of  the  street  where  the  United  States  Court  House  now  stands, 
and  from  that  point  witnessed  Sherman's  troops  deploying 
through  Cotton  Town  (having  crossed  the  river  in  flat  boats 
above)  moving  down  Main  street.  In  Sumter  street  a  large 
quantity  of  cotton  was  piled  in  bales  in  the  middle  of  the  street 
for  several  blocks  towards  Blanding.  This  cotton  was  left  intact 
by  the  Confederates.  After  waiting  until  after  Sherman's 
advance  had  approached  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  where  I 
was  seated  on  horseback,  we  moved  slowly  down  Laurel  street 
towards  the  Charlotte  depot.  Not  a  shot  was  fired.  Reaching 


572  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

the  Charlotte  depot  we  moved  out  into  Taylor's  lane.  There  I 
faced  the  column  about  and  at  the  point  where  the  railroad  crosses 
Plain  street  remained  perhaps  an  hour  and  witnessed  from  that 
point,  and  a  point  somewhat  in  advance  o?  it,  the  party  with 
United  States  flag  hurry  down  Main  street  to  the  State  House. 
Thence  we  moved  out  leisurely  by  Dent's  Mill,  through  the  pine 
wroods  to  Killians,  where  we  bivouacked  the  night  of  the  17th. 
As  I  have  stated,  General  Hampton  had  left  the  city  at  least  three 
hours  before  the  rear  guard  left.  No  cotton  was  burning  at  that 
hour ;  in  fact,  no  fire  was  set  except  as  I  have  stated,  at  the  South 
Carolina  Railroad  depot,  and  in  that  case  it  was  applied  to  the 
Confederate  stores,  so  anxious  were  we  not  to  commit  any  act 
that  might  be  an  excuse  for  retribution.  I  rode  with  the  rear 
guard  of  the  brigade  and  personally  saw  to  it  that  nothing  was 
done  of  a  hostile  character.  And  yet  General  Sherman  felt  justi 
fied  afterwards  in  saying  that  General  Hampton  foolishly  set  fire 
to  his  own  city.  Nothing  was  further  from  the  truth.  It  was 
reported  that  General  Sherman  admitted  it  was  not  true,  and  that 
he  had  made  the  charge  to  discredit  General  Hampton  with  his 
own  people.  How  little  General  Sherman  understood  the  char 
acter  of  General  Hampton's  "people,"  and  how  unfortunate  for 
General  Sherman  that  he  should  resort  to  falsehood  to  impair  the 
reputation  and  character  of  an  honorable  antagonist.  We  could 
have  assembled  at  or  near  Columbia  or  above  between  30,000  and 
40,000  veteran  soldiers,  early  in  February,  1865.  Hardee,  with 
14,000,  estimated,  in  Charleston,  Bragg,  with  10,000  in  North 
Carolina,  the  remnant  of  Hood's  army,  including  Wheeler's 
division  of  cavalry,  and  Butler's  division.  If  they  had  been  thus 
concentrated  and  Hampton  placed  in  command,  my  firm  convic 
tion  is  that  Sherman  would  have  had  to  contest  every  inch  of  his 
ground  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  in  his  march  from  the  sea. 
As  he  had  to  "live  on  the  country,"  destroying  what  he  could  not 
consume,  he  would  have  been  compelled  to  retrace  his  steps  to  the 
sea,  and  a  large  scope  of  country  in  the  Carolinas  devastated  by 
his  army,  leaving  in  its  wake  houseless  chimneys,  starving  women 
and  children,  might  have  been  spared.  I  know  how  easy  it  is  to 
criticise  and  I  express  this  opinion  without  intending  reproach  to 
any  one,  because  it  is  possible  that  we  Avere  wanting  in  supplies 
to  maintain  such  an  army  at  such  a  time,  and,  therefore,  the  con- 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  573 

centration  was  not  made  until  at  Bentonville,  when  it  was  too  late 
to  expect  satisfactory  results.  And  it  may  be  unprofitable  to 
revert  to  it  now  except  to  show  my  appreciation  of  General 
Hampton's  military  abilities. 

The  Duke  of  Alva  was  a  military  vandal  of  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury.  In  his  "Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic,"  Motley  says  of  him, 
"Such  an  amount  of  stealth  and  ferocity  of  patient  vindictiveness 
and  universal  blood-thirstiness  has  never  been  found  in  a  savage 
beast  of  the  forest  and  but  rarely  in  a  human  being." 

History  sometimes  repeats  itself.  General  Hampton  w^as  as 
incapable  of  an  act  of  vandalism,  cruelty  or  oppression  as  he  was 
of  falsehood,  cowardice  or  revenge.  He  did  not  make  war  a  hell, 
and  his  chivalric  nature  wTould  have  revolted  at  cruelty  to  the 
innocent  and  helpless  as  he  would  to  turn  his  back  on  an  enemy 
with  arms  in  his  hands. 

The  Duke  of  Alva  has  come  down  through  five  centuries  hissed 
at  in  history  for  his  bloody  atrocities,  and  scorned  at  as  relent 
lessly  today  as  during  his  disgraceful,  unsoldierly  career.  Gen 
eral  Hampton  will  live  through  the  centuries  to  come  and  be 
revered  to  the  last  for  his  humanity  in  war  and  his  exalted  char 
acter  in  peace.  AVith  the  long  list  of  South  Carolina's  eminent 
men,  it  is  worthy  of  note,  in  passing,  that  this  is  the  first  time  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  has  appropriated  money  out  of  the 
treasury  to  be  supplemented  by  contributions  from  the  public  to 
erect  a  monument  to  one  of  them — an  appropriation  graciously 
and  properly  made  with  the  private  contributions. 

In  my  judgment,  the  Legislature  would  be  justified  in  taking 
another  step  and  provide  by  appropriation  a  monument  to  the 
immortal  Calhoun  in  the  "Hall  of  Fame"  in  the  national  capitol, 
as  representing  the  highest  and  best  type  of  American  statesman 
ship,  and  another  for  Hampton  in  the  same  hall,  as  illustrating 
the  highest  and  best  type  of  military  greatness.  In  doing  this,  I 
believe  the  representatives  of  the  people  would  deserve  and  receive 
their  approval. 

I  fear,  my  countrymen,  I  have  already  trespassed  too  long  on 
your  time  and  patience.  Allow  me  to  conclude  by  reading  to  you 
an  extract  from  the  proceedings  of  the  nominating  convention  of 
July  12,  18T6.  The  convention  then  went  into  secret  session. 


574  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

That  session  lasted  from  11:30  in  the  morning  till  6:30  in  the 
evening,  with  a  recess  of  about  half  an  hour  for  dinner. 

At  the  close  of  the  discussion  the  doors  were  thrown  open  and 
it  was  announced  that  the  following  had  been  adopted  by  a  vote 
of  82  to  65  : 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention  do  now  proceed  to  nominate 
candidates  for  Governor  and  other  State  officers." 


HAMPTON,   THE   STATESMAN. 

General  Butler  nominated  General  Wade  Hampton  for  Gov 
ernor.  Mr.  Robert  Aldrich  seconded  the  nomination.  General 
Hampton  ascended  the  speaker's  stand  and  said: 

"Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen:  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the 
words  of  kindly  allusion  to  myself  which  I  have  heard  spoken 
have  deeply  touched  my  heart.  But  I  desire  to  say  a  few  words 
in  personal  explanation.  I  have  all  along  refrained  from  express 
ing  my  opinion  in  one  way  or  another,  except  when  called  upon 
to  do  so  as  a  delegate.  I  have  not  tried  to  influence  this  conven 
tion  in  word  or  deed.  I  came  here  only  to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled 
waters  if  necessary,  and  to  promote  unity  and  harmony,  if  I  could. 
In  the  card  I  published  in  the  Columbia  Register,  the  other  day,  I 
expressed  my  opinions  fully  and  earnestly.  When  the  war  was 
raging  I  was  asked  to  come  here  and  allow  my  name  to  be  used 
as  a  candidate  for  Governor,  but  I  preferred  to  stay  where  I 
thought  I  could  do  the  most  good  for  m}^  State  and  my  country ; 
and  since  the  war  I  have  never  offered  one  word  of  advice  unless 
it  was  asked  of  me.  I  felt  that  my  day  was  passed,  and  that  in 
returning  to  my  native  State  I  was  like  him  who  said:  'An  old 
man  whose  heart  is  broken  is  come  to  lay  his  weary  bones  among 
you.  Give  me  a  little  earth  for  charity.'  I  have  claimed  nothing 
from  South  Carolina  but  a  grave  in  yonder  churchyard.  But  I 
have  always  said  that  if  I  could  ever  serve  her  by  word  or  deed, 
her  men  had  only  to  call  me  and  I  would  devote  all  my  time,  my 
energy  and  my  life  to  her  service. 

"I  will  now  be  perfectly  unreserved  with  you  on  another  point. 
Men  whose  patriotism  is  beyond  question  and  in  whose  wisdom  I 
have  great  confidence,  think  that  my  nomination  would  injure 
the  Democratic  party  of  the  United  States.  If  it  were  left  with 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  575 

me  to  decide  between  that  party  and  the  interests  of  South  Caro 
lina,  I  would  not  hesitate  in  my  choice.  But  I  believe  the  success 
of  the  Democratic  party  of  the  United  States  will  bring  success 
to  South  Carolina,  and  that  if  Tilden  is  elected  we  can  call  South 
Carolina  our  own.  Now,  I  do  not  wish  to  embarrass  the  gentle 
men  of  the  convention,  nor  to  jeopardize  the  general  Democratic 
party.  I  would,  indeed,  gladly  decline  the  nomination.  Besides 
this,  there  are  men  in  South  Carolina  who  think  I  possess  a  dis 
qualification  of  which  I  cannot  divest  myself,  and  would  not  if  I 
could.  I  mean  what  they  call  my  war  record.  That  is  the  record 
of  50,000  South  Carolina  soldiers,  and  if  I  am  to  forfeit  that  and 
say  that  I  am  ashamed  to  have  been  one  of  them,  all  the  offices  in 
the  world  might  perish  before  I  would  accept  them. 

"These  are  grave  topics,  gentlemen,  and  I  implore  you  to  look 
over  the  whole  field  and  not  let  any  kindness  for  me  lead  you 
astray.  I  will  now  retire,  so  that  you  may  discuss  them  freely. 
If  you  decide  to  nominate  some  other  as  true  and  sincere  as  I, 
and  I  know  there  are  thousands  of  them,  I  will  devote  myself  to 
secure  his  election.  Come  weal  or  come  woe,  I  am  with  you  to 
the  last." 

The  following  were  then  chosen  by  acclamation : 

For  Secretary  of  State — R.  M.  Sims,  of  York. 

For  Attorney-General — James  Conner,  of  Charleston. 

For  Superintendent  of  Education — Hugh  S.  Thompson,  of 
Bichland. 

For  Comptroller-General — General  Johnson  Hagood,  of  Barn- 
well. 

For  Treasurer — S.  L.  Leaphart,  of  Richland. 

For  Adjutant-General — E.  W.  Moise,  of  Sumter. 

Of  all  who  entered  the  State  House  with  General  Hampton  on 
April  llth,  1877,  only  three  survive,  General  Hampton's  orderly 
in  war  and  trusted  private  secretary  in  '76-79,  Colonel  Wade  H. 
Manning;  Mr.  McBride  C.  Robertson,  clerk  to  Secretary  of  State 
R.  M.  Sims,  and  the  venerable  Mr.  J.  I.  Laval,  of  the  State  Treas 
urer's  office. 

At  3  o'clock  P.  M.  on  the  14th  of  December,  1876,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  and  its  officers  with  the  Senators  present,  proceeded 
to  the  platform  in  front  of  Carolina  Hall,  in  the  city  of  Columbia, 
when  Wade  Hampton,  the  Governor-elect,  delivered  the  address 

37— B.  C. 


576  BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865. 

and  the  constitutional  oath  of  office  was  administered  by  the  Hon. 
Thos.  J.  Mackey,  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  State  of  South  Caro 
lina,  and  J.  Q.  Marshall,  Esq.,  to  Wade  Hampton,  Esq.,  as  Gov 
ernor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  and  W*  D.  Simpson,  Esq., 
as  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 

This  is  what  may  be  properly  termed  as  the  beginning  of  Gen 
eral  Hampton's  great  civic  career.  That  career  is  too  familiar 
to  you  all  to  require  any  detailed  reference  on  my  part,  if  time 
and  my  strength  and  my  powers  permitted.  His  speech  of  accept 
ance  of  the  nomination  for  the  high  office  of  Governor  contains 
sentiments  and  pledges  which  he  need  not  have  made,  we  all 
know  how  faithfully,  courageously  and  ably  he  fulfilled  them. 

A  word  to  the  young  men  of  the  present  and  future  genera 
tions:  If  you  will  read  the  military  orders,  letters,  messages  as 
Governor,  speeches  to  the  people,  and  in  the  United  States  Senate 
of  General  Hampton,  you  will  find  them  filled  with  exalted  senti 
ments  couched  in  expression  singularly  replete  with  simple  and 
classic  language,  and  adorned  with  unerring  judgment. 

Speaking  for  myself,  having  passed  the  limit  in  human  life  of 
three  score  years  and  ten,  and  for  these  sturdy  veterans,  lingering 
in  the  lap  of  time  after  duty  to  country,  and  I  trust  duty  to  God, 
well  performed,  we  can  ask  no  higher  place  in  the  hearts  of  our 
countrymen  than  to  be  remembered  as  the  comrades  in  war  and 
associates  in  peace  of  Wade  Hampton,  the  honored  and  revered 
soldier  and  statesman  of  our  times. 


AMERICAN  HEROISM. 


605 


'  SOME  CONFEDERATE   SCOUTS  — THE   DUTIES   OF  THE  ARMY   SCOUT  — THE    LIFE   OF    THE  WOODS  AND 
FIELDS  —  A  MEETING  ON  PENNSYLVANIA  AVENUE— A  SCOUT  WHO  Is  Now  A  CLERGY 
MAN— A  COUNTRY  WOMAN  IN  THE  UNION  CAMP— THE  EARLY  DAYS 
OF  THE   HELIOSTAT  —  STEALING  THE   CODE  —  THE 
EAID    AFTER  BEEF. 

By  GENERAL  WADE  HAMPTON,   C.  S.  A. 

IT  is  difficult,  without  seeming  invidious,  to  give  special  instances  of 
bravery  among  the  Confederate  soldiers  where  courage  was  the  almost 
universal  rule  and  where  such  a  thing  as  cowardice  was  rarely,  if  ever, 
known.  A  roll  of  honor,  if  properly  made  out,  would  embrace  the 
name  of  nearly  every  true  man  who  fought  under  the  starry  cross;  but  doubt 
less  every  officer  could  give  many  instances  of  distin 
guished  gallantry  and  conduct,  such  as  would  have 
won  for  the  hero  of  it  the  baton  of  field  marshal,  had 
his  brave  deeds  been  performed  under  the  eye  of 
Napoleon.  It  was  unfortunate  that  our  chiefs  did 
not  possess  the  power  to  promote  to  any  grade  a 
man  from  the  ranks  for  acts  of  exceptional  bravery 
and  good  conduct— West  Point  and  red  tape  did  not 
permit  this.  There  was  many  an  able  and  gallant 
private  in  the  ranks  who  could  have  exchanged 
places  with  his  officers  to  the  great  advantage 
of  the  service,  and  a  poor,  incompetent 
officer  might  have  made  a  very  good  pri 
vate.  But  the  discussion  of  these  questions 
is  not  germane  to  the  matter  my  opinion  was 
asked  on,  whether  I  knew  of  any  men  whose 
names  were  worthy  to  be  placed  on  the  Con 
federate  Roll  of  Honor. 

In    the    Official    reports  Of   Our    officers,  many  GENERAL  WADE  HAMPTON. 

men,  both  subordinate  officers  and  privates,  received  high  and  deserved  com 
mendation  for  gallant  services,  and  doubtless  the  names  of  many  of  these 
are  on  that  honorable  roll,  but  there  was  one  class  of  our  men,  whose  services, 
though  of  vital  importance  to  the  army,  have  had  no  official  recognition,  or 


606  THE  STORY  OF 

certainly  none  such  as  they  deserve,  and  these  were  our  scouts.  Every  com 
manding  officer  had  a  body  of  picked  men  for  this  important  and  perilous 
service.  Most  of  their  time  was  spent  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  they 
carried  their  lives  in  their  hands,  they  often  had  desperate  encounters  with 
the  enemy,  and  on  their  reports  the  movements  o*f  the  army  depended  in  a 
great  measure.  It  is  of  these  men  I  propose  to  speak,  and  their  services  will 
be  better  understood  and  appreciated  by  my  citing  exploits  of  some  of  them. 

As  my  service  was  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  during  the  war,  J 
can  speak  only  of  the  scouts  of  that  army,  though  throughout  the  entire 
service  there  were  men  detailed  for  this  important  duty  who  were  quite  as 
competent  and  worthy  as  their  fellow  soldiers  in  any  other  command.  But 
as  I  wish  to  speak  from  personal  knowledge,  i  prefer  to  choose  as  my  subject 
the  scouts  of  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  for  with 
their  services  and  deeds  I  am  perfectly  familiar.  I  shall  therefore  tell  of 
their  organization,  the  manner  of  their  selection,  and  the  duties  they  were 
required  to  perform.  Then,  as  illustrative  of  the  work  they  did,  I  shall  give 
instances  of  the  high  courage,  the  valuable  services  and  the  unflagging 
devotion  displayed  by  them  in  cases  which  fell  under  my  own  observation, 

As  the  duties  of  these  men  were  dangerous,  arduous  and  delicate,  it  was 
of  the  last  consequence  to  select  such  as  were  of  unquestioned  courage, 
of  intelligence,  of  coolness  and  of  discretion.  When  a  sufficient  number 
were  selected,  they  were  generally  placed  under  the  command  of  one  of  their 
party  and  they  were  required  to  ascertain  by  all  means  possible  the  forces  of 
the  enemy,  the  disposition  of  their  forces,  their  movements,  and  all  infor 
mation  which  would  be  of  value  to  our  commanders.  The  cavalry  in  our 
army,  as  in  all  others,  always  held  the  outposts;  they  were  "the  eyes  and  the 
ears"  of  the  army;  they  watched  and  guarded  the  infantry  while  the  latter 
slept,  and  their  duties  were  unceasing.  They  held  the  picket  lines,  and  it  was 
for  them  to  guard  against  any  surprise,  to  keep  the  general  posted  of  all  the 
movements  of  the  enemy,  and  to  defend  their  positions  by  all  possible  means. 

While  the  cavalry  had  their  responsible  duties  to  perform,  those  of  the 
scouts  were  even  more  responsible  and  more  dangerous,  for  these  men  were 
constantly  exposed  to  danger,  while  they  had  to  brave  all  kinds  of  weather, 
sleeping,  as  they  did,  in  the  woods,  the  sky  their  only  covering,  save  an 
overcoat  or  perhaps  a  scanty  blanket;  and  they  had  to  be  on  the  watch 
every  minute  to  guard  against  surprise.  Their  work  was  performed  chiefly 
through  the  night,  so  that  little  rest  was  allowed  them,  and  whilst  seeking 
that  rest  they  were  often  called  on  to  defend  themselves  from  capture  or 
death.  When  they  were  ordered  on  duty,  a  squad,  perhaps,  of  ten  or 
fifteen  generally,  would  go  out,  though  on  some  occasions  when  secret 
particular  service  was  required,  only  one  man  would  be  detailed  for  such 


AMERICAN  HEROISM.  609 

duty.  In  cases  of  this  character  the  work  demanded  of  the  man  chosen  was 
the  most  important  and  the  most  perilous  a  soldier  could  be  called  on  to 
discharge,  for  he  would  have  to  act  as  scout  and  as  spy,  and  he  knew  full  well 
that  if  he  were  captured  a  short  shrift  and  a  halter  would  be  his  fate.  A 
scout  was  not  necessarily  a  spy,  nor  a  spy  always  a  scout,  and  while  in  civil 
life  a  spy  is  deservedly  regarded  with  contempt  and  aversion,  in  military 
affairs  the  services  of  such  men  are  recognized  as  absolutely  necessary  and 
the  dangers  they  incur  render  their  work  legitimate  and  honorable.  The 
adventures  some  of  these  men  met  with  in  the  prosecution  of  their  work 
were  so  marvelous  that  they  seem  incredible,  but  every  old  soldier  can  certify 
to  their  truthfulness,  and  in  the  following  sketch  of  the  services  of  the  scouts 
of  the  cavalry  corps,  I  shall  begin  by  narrating  what  was  done  by  some  of 
these  men  whose  work  was  done  under  my  own  eye.  By  doing  this  my 
narrative,  though  it  may  not  be  a  connected  relation,  will,  by  a  series  of 
hort  sketches  of  individual  scouts,  give  a  better  comprehension  of  the 
haracter  of  these  men  and  of  the  work  they  did.  Some  of  the  men  referred 
o  are  dead,  but  a  few  are  still  living,  scattered  over  the  whole  country  from 
Maryland  to  California. 

The  subject  of -my  first  sketch  was  a  man  from  Texas,  who  was  associated 
ith  me  during  the  war,  and  who  was  one  of  the  most  daring  and  most  suc- 
essf ul  scouts  in  the  army,  as  an  account  of  some  of  his  numerous  adventures 
ill  show.     On  one  occasion  when  he  was  in  the  lines  of  the  enemy  alone,  he 
aptured   a   Federal   captain,   who   was   sent   to    prison    and   subsequently 
xchanged.     About  this  time  his  captor  w^as  in  Washington,  staying  at  one 
f  the  hotels  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  and  as  he  was  walking  up  the  street 
ne  day  he  met  his  former  prisoner,  who  recognized  him  at  once.     The  cap- 
in  asked  him  what  he  was  doing  there,  and  the  scout  replied  promptly  that 
the  Confederacy  had  gone  to  the  devil  and  he  was  getting  as  far  north  as 
possible.     He  then  invited  the  captain  to  go  up  to  his  room  to  take  a  gla  s 
of  brandy,  and  after  several  glasses,  both  went  out  and  separated.     The  scout, 
when  he  reported  to  me,  said  that  he  thought  it  best  then  to  get  across  the 
otomac,  and  he  did  so  at  once. 

On  another  occasion,  he  was  arrested  in  Baltimore  and  sent  under  guard 
o  Washington.  Within  ten  miles  of  the  city,  he  jumped  off  the  train, 
walked  to  the  city,  secured  the  information  he  sought  and  returned  safely 
our  lines. 

When  some  naval  expedition  was  being  fitted  out  in  Philadelphia,  he 
vent  there,  engaged  as  one  of  the  workmen,  and  when  he  had  ascertained 
lie  object  of  the  expedition,  he  returned  to  report  it  to  headquarters. 

Associated  with  this  man  were  five  or  six  other  scouts,  all  thoroughly 
/eliable  men,  and  they  often  encountered  and  fought  against  large  odds  while 

i 


610 


THE  STORY  OF 


in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  but  it  is  impossible  within  the  scope  of  thi 
article  to  give  the  details  of  their  admirable  conduct,  so  I  have  chosen  one  c 
them,  because  he  was  so  frequently  detailed  on  service  where  he  had  to  ac 
as  scout  and  spy.  He  passed  through  the  war  safely  but  died  subsequent! 
in  Texas.  Doubtless,  many  of  his  Texan  fellow  soldiers  remember  him,  an 
they  would  identify  him  at  once  should  this  sketch  of  him  fall  into  thei 
hands.  There  were  so  many  of  our  scouts  whose  career  was  similar  to  his 
that  it  is  difficult  to  select  proper  subjects  for  this  disjointed  narrative  with 
out  stretching  it  to  too  great  a  length,  so  I  shall  mention  only  a  few  wh 
won  and  deserved  a  very  high  reputation. 

Amongst  them  was  one  whose  wiiole  career  in  the  army  was  full 
thrilling  adventures,  hair-breadth  escapes  from  danger,  and  daring  deeds.    1 

volume  would  be  required  t 
record  all  of  them,  but  som 
incidents  of  his  army  life  wi 
show  the  character  of  the  ma 
and  of  his  work.  After  th 
war  he  enlisted  under  the  ban 
ner  of  the  Cross  and  he  is  n 
an  earnest,  devoted  Episcopa 
clergyman,  striving  as  zea 
ously  now  to  save  men,  as  h 
once  did  to  dispose  of  them  i 
another  and  more  summar 
manner.  He  generally  wen 
on  his  expeditions  alone, 
with  but  one  comrade,  for  hi 
duty  as  a  general  rule  was  t 
obtain  information  of  the  ene 

THE  SCOUT  IN  THE  UNION  CAMP.  my>    an(J    no    danger,   no  risk 

ever  deterred  him  from  the  accomplishment  of  his  object.  Once,  when  oul 
with  but  one  companion,  near  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  they  laid  down  at  nighl 
in  the  woods  with  a  blanket  over  them.  The  man  of  whom  I  am  speaking  was 
aroused  by  a  pull  of  the  blanket  and  a  voice  exclaiming,  "  Get  up,  Johnny 
Rebs,  we  have  got  you."  He  pulled  the  blanket  up  over  his  head,  nudged  his 
companion  in  an  effort  to  wTake  him,  and  drew  his  pistol  just  as  the  blanket  was 
jerked  off  of  them.  There  were  three  Federal  soldiers  standing  over  them,  and 
one  had  his  rifle  with  the  bayonet  pointing  at  the  sleeping  man.  The  instani 
the  blanket  was  withdrawn,  the  scout  shot  the  man  who  held  the  rifle,  and  as 
he  fell  his  bayonet  passed  through  the  heart  of  the  other  scout,  while  two  quick 
shots  from  the  revolver  of  the  living  man  killed  both  of  the  other  Federals, 


AMERICAN  HEROISM.  611 

On  another  occasion,  he  dressed  as  an  old  countrywoman,  procured 
n  old  cart  and  sold  vegetables  for  three  days  in  the  midst  of,  and  to  the 
'ederal  army,  and  came  away  bringing,  besides  valuable  information,  the 
leadquarter's  flag  of  the  general  commanding. 

Many  more  interesting  incidents  could  be  cited  of  him,  but  the  foregoing 
ire  sufficient  to  show  how  daring  and  skillful  he  was,  and  it  is  only  necessary 

0  say,  in  order  to  prove  how  high  his  reputation  was,  that  he  possessed  the 
ull  confidence  of  General  Lee,  who  constantly  entrusted  to  him  the  most 
ielicate  and  important  duties. 

There  was  another  man  whose  career  was  as  remarkable  as  that  of  any 
ne  in  the  army,  to  whose  intelligence,  skill  and  courage  our  commanding 
generals  were  greatly  indebted,  for  he  constantly  secured  important  informa- 
ion  by  the  most  extraordinary  means.  He  came  to  Washington  often  and 
istablished  there  a  system  of  signals,  to  be  transmitted  by  means  of  looking- 
glasses,  and  these  signals,  flashed  from  a  house  in  the  city,  were  repeated  to 
mr  lines  in  Virginia.  I  saw  him  cross  the  Potomac  one  night  alone  between 
he  gunboats  in  a  frail  canoe,  and  on  that  occasion  he  went  to  Washington 
md  returned  with  important  information.  He  accompanied  General  Beau- 
egard  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  when  the  latter  took  command  there,  and  while 
n  that  city  he  died.  During  his  service  there,  an  assault  was  made  on  Fort 
5umter,  but  was  repulsed  with  loss  to  the  enemy  and  among  the  prisoners 
aken  was  a  lieutenant  of  the  navy.  He  was  put  in  prison,  and  the  scout, 
utting  on  a  Federal  uniform,  had  himself  confined  with  him,  and  being 
amiliar  with  many  of  our  signals,  he  discussed  the  manner  of  using  signals 

1  warfare.     By  these  means,  he  acquired  the  knowledge  of  those  in  use 
y  the  Federal  Navy,  and  General  Beauregard  was  afterwards  enabled  to 
nderstand  the   orders    for  all  movements  contemplated  by  the  officers  of 
he  Federal  fleet. 

This  detective  work  has  an  unpleasant  sound  to  civilian  ears,  but  the  old 
naxim  that  "  all  is  fair  in  love  and  war,"  still  holds  good,  and  spies  are  neces- 
ary  in  war  as  they  are  sometimes  in  peace.  I  have  taken  the  men  here 
poken  of  as  types  of  those  scouts,  who  generally  were  called  on  to  act  singly, 
nd  while  there  were  many  others  worthy  of  mention,  the  examples  given 
re  sufficient  to  showr  what  nerve,  coolness,  vigilance  and  courage  were 
equisite  to  fit  a  man  for  this  duty. 

Having  given  some  instances  of  the  acts  of  individual  skill  and  bravery 
n  the  part  of  a  few  of  our  scouts,  I  shall  show  now,  by  a  narration  of  their 
xploits  when  a  number  of  them  acted  together,  how  often  they  had  to  face 
Luminent  danger,  and  how  they  were  frequently  compelled  to  fight  desper- 
tely  in  order  to  save  themselves.  Not  only  did  this  happen  often,  but  on 
onie  occasions  they  performed  brilliant  exploits,  such  as  not  only  proved 

A.  H.— 35 


612  THE  STORY  OF 

them  to  be  brave  and  gallant  soldiers,  but  fit,  many  of  them,  to  command 
instead  of  occupying  subordinate  positions,  as  they  did.  The  responsibilit 
imposed  on  them  was  heavy,  and  the  only  reward  they  could  look  for  wer 
the  commendations  of  their  officers,  together  with  the  consciousness  of  dut 
performed.  * 

Amongst  my  scouts  was  one  from  Louisiana,  and  he  is  now  a  successf u 
and  popular  lawyer  in  California,  to  which  State  he  went  after  the  war.  Hi 
was  engaged  in  so  many  scouting  expeditions,  and  encountered  so  mair 
perils,  that  it  is  difficult  to  select  any  for  illustration  when  nearly  all  were  f ul 
of  interest.  But  a  few  instances  of  the  manner  in  which  his  duty  was  per 
formed  will  prove  how  worthy  he  was  of  the  trust  and  confidence  reposed  ii 
him.  He  was  one  of  the  sergeants  of  my  scouts,  and  while  he  often  acte( 
alone,  he  generally  had  with  him  the  men,  or  a  number  of  them,  who  wer< 
detailed  to  serve  with  him.  In  September,  1864,  he  reported  to  me  that  ther< 
was  a  large  herd  of  cattle  near  City  Point,  below  Petersburg,  and  he  tolc 
me  how  they  were  guarded.  His  report  in  this  case  deserves  mention  or 
account  of  the  accuracy  of  the  information  he  had  acquired,  as  well  a* 
the  military  acumen  it  displayed.  Written  as  it  was  in  the  lines  of  the 
enemy,  it  was  certainly  a  remarkable  production,  and  the  suggestions  ii 
contained  proved  that  he  was  a  soldier  of  high  ability.  In  the  expeditior 
made  in  pursuance  of  the  information  received,  he  acted  as  guide  and  dis 
tinguished  himself  with  conspicuous  gallantry  in  the  fight  we  had  with  the 
enemy. 

We  moved  out  on  Wednesday,  and  at  daylight  on  Friday  we  struct 
the  enemy,  who  made  a  stubborn  resistance,  inflicting  quite  a  heavy  loss  on 
us,  but  we  carried  their  camp,  and  after  some  trouble,  " rounded  up"  the 
cattle,  which  had  been  stampeded  and  were  rushing  wildly  toward  City  Point. 
All  except  one  —  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-six — were  carried 
off  safely,  though  we  had  to  fight  our  way  across  the  Jerusalem  plank  road, 
where  a  division  of  cavalry  endeavored  to  cut  us  off.  The  scout,  who  made 
the  report,  met  us  on  our  march,  guided  us  to  the  proper  point  for  the  attack, 
and  went  in  bravely  with  the  attacking  force.  The  success  we  gained  was 
mainly  owing  to  him,  for  he  reported  the  presence  of  the  cattle,  and  gave  so 
minute  and  accurate  an  account  of  the  position  of  the  enemy,  that  our  attack 
was  a  surprise  and  a  complete  success.  The  account  of  the  expedition  is 
given  to  show  how  greatly  we  depended  on  our  scouts  for  reliable  informa 
tion,  and  to  prove  how  intelligent  many  of  these  men  were.  While  it  was 
of  course  necessary  that  they  should  be  courageous,  it  was  equally  so  that 
they  should  be  of  good  judgment  and  competent  to  advise  their  officers,  not 
only  of  the  position  of  the  enemy,  but  of  the  advisability  of  movements  on 
our  part. 


AMERICAN  HEROISM.  613 

One  incident  which  occurred  on  this  occasion  touched  me  deeply.  One 
"  my  best  and  favorite  scouts  was  severely  wounded  in  our  first  attack  on  the 
lemy,  and  I  had  sent  him  in  an  ambulance  to  a  house  in  our  rear.  There  I 
lied  to  see  him  as  we  were  returning,  and  I  found  him  lying  on  a  mattress 
iffering  great  pain.  Taking  his  hand,  I  expressed  my  regret  that  he  was 
ounded,  and  said  that  I  hoped  he  would  soon  recover.  Holding  my  hand, 
ioking  up  calmly,  and  without  a  tremor  in  his  voice,  he  replied,  "  No, 
sneral,  I  am  mortally  wounded,  and  I  shall  never  see  you  again,  but  I  die 
srfectly  happy,  fighting  for  my  country  and  fighting  under  you."  That 
an's  name  was  worthy  to  be  placed  on  any  roll  of  honor,  where  unflinching 
mrage  and  loyal  devotion  to  duty  are  the  requirements  for  enrollment. 
3sides  the  loss  of  this  brave  man,  three  others  of  my  scouts  were  wounded, 
i  us  showing  that  in  a  fight  they  were  always  in  the  front,  for  they  were  men 
ho  never  shirked  any  duty  of  a  soldier. 

There  was  one  other  exploit  of  the  scout  whose  report  has  been  quoted 
hich  is  worthy  of  mention,  and  before  turning  to  another,  and  the  last  of 
y  scouts  to  whom  reference  shall  be  made,  I  give  briefly  an  account  of 
iat.  He  and  another  scout  seeing  a  Federal  steamer  at  Fredericksburg, 
id  thinking  it  had  come  under  a  flag  of  truce,  entered  the  town  and  were 
iptured.  They  were  put  in  irons,  taken  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  there 
ansferred  to  a  gunboat  which  ran  up  the  James  River  to  the  vicinity  of 
.ty  Point.  Slipping  their  handcuffs,  they  dropped  overboard  on  a  dark 
ght  and  reached  the  south  bank  of  the  river.  There  they  found  a  few  men 
i  signal  duty  and  a  small  number  detailed  to  do  some  work.  Near  by  was 
Drt  Powhatan,  for  which  a  company  of  colored  cavalry  made  daily 
connoissances,  and  the  scout  organized  a  small  party,  ambushed  this 
•mpany,  killed  many  of  them,  supplied  themselves  with  arms  and  horses, 
id  joined  me  in  North  Carolina,  where  I  was  serving  with  General 
hnston. 

Before  speaking  of  the  last  of  my  scouts,  to  whom  allusion  was  made 

K>ve,  let  me  tell  of  an  incident  which  befell  one  of  them,  which,  though  not 

OJC,   had    a    very   humorous    phase.     While    stationed  at    Culpeper    in 

rginia,  I  directed  this  man  to  go  out  early  the  next  morning  down  our 

le   of  the  river,  and  to  capture  a  prisoner,  as  I  wished  to   obtain   some 

formation.     The  next  night  he  reported  to  me,  and  when  asked  if  he  had 

cured  his  man,  he  replied  in  the  negative.     He  said  that  he  saw  a  major 

liking  down  the  opposite  bank  of  the  stream,  and  covering  him  with  his 

in  he  ordered  him  to  surrender.     This  the  major  did,  but  when  called  on 

cross  the  river,  he  protested  that  he  could  not  swim.     The  scout  said  that 

at  made  no  difference,  and  that  he  would  have  to  take  water  or  be  shot. 

^hereupon  the  so-called  prisoner  approached  toward  the  river,  and  passing 


614  THE  STORY  OF 

a  large  stump  he  jumped  behind  it  and  sat  down.  Provoked  at  what  he 
regarded  as  an  act  of  treachery,  the  scout  sat  down,  watching  for  a  chance  t( 
shoot  his  friend  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  thus  they  remainec 
until  dark,  when  the  major  slipped  off  unseen,  and  the  scout  returned 
thoroughly  disgusted  with  his  still  hunt. 

I  shall  cite  but  one  more  instance  of  the  good  work  done  by  our  scouts 
and  as  this,  taken  as  a  whole,  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  achievement; 
which  fell  under  my  notice  during  the  war,  it  will  make  a  fitting  close  t< 
this  article,  which,  I  fear,  is  already  too  prolix.  While  the  cavalry  was  at  5 
point  about  ten  miles  from  Goldsboro,  in  North  Carolina,  Sherman  occupie< 
that  town.  Learning  where  his  headquarters  were,  I  called  up  this  scout 
and  told  him  that  I  wished  him  to  go  on  an  expedition  which  was  full  o 
peril.  We  were  between  two  rivers,  the  Neuse  on  the  south  and  Little  Rive: 
on  the  north,  and  after  showing  him  the  position  of  the  house  in  whicl 
Sherman  was,  I  told  him  that  he  must  swim  the  river  on  our  right  flank 
cross  the  Charleston  and  Wilmington  Railroad,  where  he  would  find  a  portioi 
of  the  cavalry  of  the  enemy,  to  break  through  there  and  to  recross  the  rive: 
below  Goldsboro.  There  he  was  to  dash  into  the  town,  and  endeavor  t| 
capture  Sherman.  He  expressed  his  readiness  to  undertake  the  work,  an< 
when  asked  how  many  men  he  required,  he  said  thirty.  I  gave  orders  foj 
him  to  select  his  men  and  to  move  at  once.  He  took  thirty-three  men 
fifteen  armed  with  carbines  and  pistols,  and  the  others  only  with  the  latte^ 
and  they  moved  off  immediately.  The  next  day  Sherman  left  Goldsboro 
moving  up  towards  Smithfield,  and  I  felt  great  anxiety  as  to  the  fate  of  1113 
scouts,  for  rumors  of  their  capture  and  death  reached  us.  I  could  learj 
nothing  of  them  for  many  days,  but  having  been  called  by  President  Davil 
to  Charlotte,  after  the  surrender  of  General  Lee,  I  met  my  scout  there,  an< 
to  my  question  why  he  came,  he  replied  that  he  had  heard  that  Johnston'! 
army  was  to  be  surrendered,  and  as  he  did  not  intend  to  surrender,  he  hat 
come  in  to  learn  the  facts.  He  then  gave  an  account  of  his  expedition,  anj 
subsequently  sent  in  a  written  report  of  it.  I  regret  not  having  this  papej 
here,  so  only  some  of  the  salient  points  of  it  can  be  given  from  memory.  Hi 
commenced  his  verbal  account  by  saying,  that  as  I  was  aware  Sherman  lef 
Goldsboro  the  day  after  the  scouting  party  crossed  the  Neuse  River,  and  tha 
of  course  he  did  not  attempt  to  go  to  Goldsboro.  He  struck  the  Federa 
Cavalry  near  the  railroad,  and  after  a  sharp  skirmish  passed  through  thei: 
lines,  when  he  fell  in  with  a  herd  of  cattle  and  sheep  guarded  by  cavalrji 
He  dispersed  the  latter,  captured  the  stock  and  sent  them  off  under  guard  oj 
three  men.  Finding  that  he  was  pursued,  he  stationed  his  fifteen  riflemei 
behind  a  fence,  holding  the  remaining  men  mounted.  The  Federals  charged 
were  received  by  a  volley  from  the  dismounted  men,  which  threw  them  into 


AMERICAN  HEROISM.  615 

confusion,  and  they  were  in  turn  charged  by  the  whole  force  of  scouts.     In 
this  charge  and  pursuit,  upwards  of  thirty  Federals  were  killed  or  wounded, 
and  the  captured  stock  was  brought  off  safely.     Our  party  had  various  other 
skirmishes,  capturing  a  large  number  of  prisoners,  but  mention  shall  be 
iiade  only  of  their  last  achievement,  which  I  regard  as  very  brilliant.     One 
vening  about  dusk,  while  moving  on  a  blind  by-road,  they  debouched  on  a 
lain  thoroughfare,  upon  which  the  enemy  were  moving.     They  struck  this 
little  in  advance  of  a  train  of  wagons,  loaded  w^ith  commissary  stores,  and 
he  wagon-master  was  riding  some  distance  in  front,  looking  for  a  place  to 
amp.     The  leader  of  the  scouts  rode  up,  captured  him,  changed  horses  with 
im,  and  dashing  towards  the  train  he  shouted  out  to  follow  him  quickly 
or  the  Rebels  held  the  road  beyond  them.     The  train  moved  up  rapidly,  and 
ne  hundred  and  ten  wagons  were  turned  into  the  by-road,  and  pushed  for 
ward  as  fast  as  they  could  move.     The  road  was  rough  and  narrow,  and  the 
venteenth  wagon  from  the  front  broke  down,  and  as  there  was  no  mode  of 
etting  those  in  the  rear  past  it,  they  were  all  burned ;  but  all  the  teams  and 
ixteen  wagons  were  brought  off  safely. 

In  this  expedition,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  stated  as  to  the  opera- 
ions  of  these  scouts,  they  reported  nearly  one  hundred  of  the  enemy  killed, 
our  hundred  prisoners  captured  and  paroled,  and  this  work  was  done  without 
loss  of  a  single  man  in  their  party.  The  gallant  man  who  led  this  expe- 
ition  met  a  tragic  end,  for  he  went  to  take  part  in  the  last  revolution  in 
uba,  and  his  leg  having  been  broken  in  a  fight  there,  when  he  refused  to 
urrender  he  was  killed. 

I  have  not  given  the  names  of  the  men  referred  to  in  this  paper,  because 
ome  of  them  are  living,  and  my  only  object  in  writing  the  article  is  to  do 
ustice,  in  part  at  least,  to  a  class  of  men  whose  services,  important  and  gal- 
ant  as  they  were,  have  received  little,  if  any,  official  recognition.  Of  course, 
lere  were  hundreds  of  other  scouts  besides  those  mentioned  who  deserve 
ae  praise  given  to  the  few  I  have  recalled,  and  there  were  many  cases  of 
eroic  conduct  which  could  be  specified,  but  to  do  so  would  be  to  tax  the 
atience  of  my  readers  to  too  great  an  extent. 


616  THE  STORY  OF 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

AFTER  FIVE    FORKS -THE    FINAL    ASSAULTS  ON  PETERSBURG  — GEORGE  W    POTTER  IST  R    I    T 
ARTILLERY  -CHARGING  THE   WORKS  WITHOUT  ARMS  -  R.  J.  GARDNER  34TH  MASSACHUSETTS' 

•THE  CAPTURE  OF  FORTS  GREGG  AND  WHITWORTH  — A    O    APPLE   12rn 

WEST  VIRGINIA  INFANTRY  — GENERAL  LEE'S  RETREAT,  AND  THE   MOVEMENTS 

WHICH  LED  TO  THE  LAST  BATTLE  — J.  K.  PIERSOL  13TH  OHIO  CAVALRY 

—  HARD  SERVICE  BY  A  REGIMENT  NOT  MOUNTED   UNTIL  THE 

END  OF  1864 -IRA  H.  EVANS  lOrn  VERMONT  INFANTRY 

—  9TH  U.  S.  C.  T. — INTERVIEWING  DESERTERS. 

GEORGE  W.  POTTER  was  born  in  Coventry,  R.  L,  in  1843     He  en 
listed  February  26,  1862,  at  Westerly,  R.  I.,  as  private  in  Compaq 
G,  1st  Rhode   Island    Light  Artillery,  and  reenlisted  at  Brand} 
Station,   Va.,  during  the   winter  of  1863  and   1864,  in   the  saim 
organization. 

Writing  from  Providence,  R.  I.,  Mr.  Potter  says: 

I  served  with  my  company  through  all  the  campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  up  to  and  including  the  assault  on  Petersburg,  where  I  was  shot  in 
the  left  temple,  and  the  sight  of  my  left  eye  virtually  destroyed. 

On  the  evening  of  April  1,  1865,  about  twenty  of  us  volunteered  to  g( 
under  the  leadership  of  our  company  commander,  George  W.  Adams,  wit! 
the  charging  column  on  the  following  morning. 

Just  before  daylight  we  fornled  with  our  detachment  in  the  front  line 
and,  at  the  booming  of  the  signal  gun,  started. 

We  were  successful,  and  on  reaching  the  line  of  works  our  little  squad 
took  charge  of  the  guns.  We  had  brought  with  us  lanyards,  sponge-staffs, 
and  such  other  tools  as  we  thought  might  be  necessary.  It  was  a  grand  un 
dertaking,  well  executed,  and  many  of  the  enemy  bit  the  dust  through  shot* 
from  their  own  guns.  Captain  Adams  of  Company  G,  who  led  us,  received  a 
brevet-major's  commission  for  his  share  in  the  work.  I  was  shot  down  in 
the  charge,  and  still  suffer  from  the  wound,  but  I  have  a  medal  of  honor  toj 
show  what  my  portion  was  in  that  day's  work.  The  inscription  on  it  is  asj 
follows: 


The  Congress  to  George  W.  Potter,  Battery  G,  1st  Rhode  Island  Light  Artillery.  " 


BUTLER  AND  His  CAVALRY,  1861-1865.  57' 


TO  THE  DEPARTING  CONFEDERATE  SOLDIERS 

BY  SMITH  JOHNSON,  TYLER,  TEXAS. 

One  by  one  they  pass  away, 

Cross  the  river  one  by  one ; 
And  the  shadows  of  to-day 

Darken  the  departing  sun. 
'Tis  a  hero  falling,  seeking 

In  eternity  sweet  rest, 
While  his  country's  tears  are  reeking 

Sorrow's  passion  rends  the  breast 
Of  the  chivalry  and  beauty 

South  of  Dixie's  magic  line. 


One  by  one  the  ranks  are  thinning, 

And  a  comrade  falls  to  sleep. 
Death  invades  our  sanctum,  winning 

Jewels  rare  we  fain  would  keep ; 
Jewels  from  the  Southern  cross, 

Tried  by  fires  of  deadly  war, 
Who  shall  recompense  our  loss? 

Will  their  spirits  from  afar 
Whisper  us  some  consolation, 

Minister  at  freedom's  shrine  ? 

THE  END 


INDEX  AS  TO  TITLES 


The  Jacket  of  Gray,  3. 

Preface,  5. 

To    the    Memory    of    Whitfield    B. 

Brooks,  7. 
Introduction,  9. 
Survivors  of  Butler's  Brigade  Form 

Organization,  13. 
Butler's  Cavalry,  17. 
The   War    Horse    Sniffs    the   Battie 

Afar  Off,  19. 
General    Butler's   Last   War   Horse. 

21. 

General  William  Butler,  26. 
Matthew  Calbraith  Butler,  51. 
Edgefield  Hussars,  62. 
The    War    Record    of    Two    Brave 

Confederates,    a    Captain    and    a 

Private,  and  a  Colloquy  Between 

a  Major  and  a  Sergeant,  63. 
General  Butler's  Narrative,  70. 
Butler  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  80. 
Dumfries'  Raid,  No.  1,  85. 
Dumfries'   Raid,  No.  2,  87. 
The  Story  of  a  Scout  Told  in  His 

Own  Way,  96. 
Who  Started  the  War?  114. 
The  Capture  of  a  Gunboat  in  Edisto 

River,  114. 
The  Story  of  One  of  Butler's  Scouts 

in  Fort  Delaware,  123. 
The  Murder  of  Billy  Dulin,  129. 
Jack     Shoolbred     Sells     a     Yankee 

"Nigger,"  130. 

Battle  of  Brandy  Station,  Va.,  132. 
Beautiful    Tribute    to    the    Private 

Soldier,  134. 
The  Iron  Scouts,  138. 
Capture  of  General  Neal  Dow,  114. 
Battle  of  Brandy   Station — Graphic- 
Description  by  Gen.  M.  C.  Butler. 

etc.,  149. 
Colonel  Thomas  J.  Limpscomb,  160. 


Butler's  Cavalry  at  Brandy  Station, 

165. 

Aftermath  of  Brandy  Station,  171. 
Recollections      of      Calvin      Harper 

(Negro),  186. 
Charge  of  John  C.  Calhoun  at  Tre- 

villian  Station,  187. 
Diary  of  John  C.  Calhoun,   Co.   C, 

4th    S.    C.    C.,    Butler's    Brigade, 

Hampton's  Division,  190. 
Casualties  of  Co.  C,  4th  S.  C.  C.,  in 

Battle,  193. 

A  Daring  Yankee  Spy,  199. 
Battle  of  Bethesda  Church,  205. 
Battle  of  Hawes'  Shop,  209. 
A  Few  Letters,  216. 
Great  Men  Profitable  Company,  223. 
Fight  at  Matadoquin  and  Totopomoi 

Creeks,   30th   May,    1864,   224. 
The  Grey  Horse  "Arab,"  231. 
Battle  of  Trevillian  Station,  236. 
M.  C.  Butler  a  Born  Soldier,  260. 
A     Boy    Courier's    Recollection    of 

M.  C.  Butler,  264. 
Sheridan's  Retreat,  267. 
Some  One  Should  Write  the  History 

of  Every  Brigade,  271. 
Wilson's  Raid,  279. 
Gravelly  Run,  Virginia,  284. 
Letters  from  the  Front,  291. 
Extract  from  "The  Confederate  Sol 
dier"  in  the  Civil  War,  295. 
Michael  Calvin  Dickson,  299. 
Battle  of  Lee's  Mill,  Virginia,  301. 
Battle  of  Reams  Station,  303. 
Capture  of  General  Grant's  Cattle. 

308. 
What  an  Artillery  Man  Saw  at  the 

Cattle  Raid,  314. 
Battle  of  McDowell's  Farm,  325. 
Butler's  Night  March,  344. 
Butler's  Brigade  in  1864,  350. 


38— B.    C. 


580 


INDEX  TO  TITLES 


Read    Before   Camp    Hampton,    3rd 

September,  1899,  355. 
"Kit  Goodwyn,"  Colored,  370. 
Contribution  from  a  Yankee  Scout, 

373. 

W.  L.  Mauldin  of  Greenville,  377. 
"Dismounted      Battalion,      Butler's 

Cavalry  Brigade,"  380. 
At  Weldon,  North  Carolina,  384. 
Shadburne  and  the  Negro,  389. 
The  Power  of  Prayer,  393. 
Recollections  of  J.  D.  Hogan,  Scout. 

403. 
J.   C.   Colvin,    Scout,   of   Nokesville, 

Va.,  408. 

Warren's  Raid,  411. 
Dr.  B.  W.  Taylor,  416. 
The  Charge  on  Kilpatrick's  Camp, 

417. 

Heroic  Deeds,  432. 
The  Citadel  Boys,  441. 
General  Kilpatrick's  Narrow  Escape, 

443. 

The  Scenes  of  a  Yankee  March,  448. 
Burning  of  the  Convent,  456. 
Hugh  Scott,  Scout  for  Hampton  and 

Butler,  Troop  I,  2nd  S.  C.  C.,  463. 
The     Curtain     Falls— Butler     Sur 
renders  His  Cavalry,  465. 


Commands  of  M.  C.  Butler,  478. 
Death  of  Brig.-Gen.  John  Dunovant, 

479. 

History  and  War  Anecdotes,  480. 
The  Confederate  Soldier,  488. 
Prison  Life,  493. 
One  of  Butler's  Captains  in  Prison, 

496. 

On  the  Way  Home,  498. 
Butler's   Scouts   in  Yankee  Prisons, 

504. 
One    of    Butler's    Scouts    at    Point 

Lookout,   506. 
Prison  Experience  of  W.  W.  Russell, 

509. 
Forty-nine  Thousand  Die  in  Prison, 

513. 

Recollections  of  Andersonville,  514. 
Interesting  Comparison,  528. 
Prisoners  of  War  North  and  South, 

531. 

Regimental  Roll  of  Officers,  537. 
Colonel       Thomas       J.       Lipscorub. 

"C.  S.  A.",  545. 

Aiken's  Partisan  Rangers,  547. 
Speeches  Made  at  the  Unveiling  of 

Hampton  Monument,  550. 
To  the  Departing  Confederate  Sol 
diers,  576. 


INDEX 


A. 

Adams,  Joel,  418. 

Adams,  Mat,  killed,  428. 

Adams,  Lt.-Col.  Warren,  wounded, 
474. 

Addison,  George,  assists  in  capture 
of  gunboat,  116. 

Aiken,  Col.  Hugh  K. :  portrait,  216; 
wounded,  244;  killed,  245,  423; 
otherwise  mentioned,  215,  240, 
341,  423,  471. 

Aiken,  Mrs.  Hugh  K.,  14. 

Aiken's  Partisan  Rangers,  record  of, 
547-549. 

Aldrich,  Alfred:  portrait,  175; 
wounded,  249. 

Aldrich,  Robert:  portrait,  256;  men 
tioned,  339. 

Alston,  Lieut.,  tosses  bomb,  433. 

Allen,  Wash,  250. 

Allen,  Lieut.  William,  killed,  344. 

Andersonville  Prison:  described  by 
Henry  A.  Whitman,  514-528;  the 
"dead  line"  in,  515;  the  hospital 
of,  515-516;  the  dead  house,  517; 
reflections  on  the  death  of  a  boy 
in,  517;  the  graveyard,  518;  Cap 
tain  Wirz,  governor  of,  519-525; 
suicide  (?)  in,  523-524;  horrors 
of  might  have  been  prevented, 
526;  U.  S.  government  responsi 
ble  for  suffering  in,  527. 

Arnold,  Col.  R.  B.,  an  "Alfonso," 
483-484. 

Armies'  numerical  strength  con 
trasted,  528-530. 

Ashley,  scout,  418. 

B. 

"B.  Still"  buried,  485. 
Bachman's  Battery,  429. 
Baker,  L.  S. :  commands  Hampton's 
brigade,  171. 


Barnberg,  Frank :  faithful  gunner, 
251,  354,  358. 

Barnes,   Bill,  418. 

Barker,  Major,  T.  G. :  wounded,  359, 
361. 

Barnwell,  Sergt.  Woody:  scout,  139. 

Banks,  William,  chaplain  Fourth 
S.  C.  C. :  captured,  robbed  and 
released,  214. 

Baugh,   Captain,  473. 

Bauskett,  Lieut.  John :  "The  Man  of 
the  Hour"  at  Willtown,  117;  por 
trait,  237;  commands  company  B, 
244;  otherwise  mentioned,  249, 
341. 

Beck,  Joe:  scout,  136,  162. 

Bellotte,  Lieut.  F.  D. :  wounded, 
193. 

Bellotte,  S.  A.:  wounded,  193. 

Bellotte,  Z.  D.,  193,  300. 

Bellotte,  J.  D.,  300. 

Bennett  House:  the,  288-289. 

Berg,  Jacob :  sharpshooter,  176. 

Berry,    Dick:   wounded,   244. 

Bethesda  Church:  battle  of,  205- 
208. 

Black:  scout,  418. 

Black,  Gus,  138. 

Blocker,  Major  Jno.  R. :  mortally 
wounded,  207. 

Bolick,  scout :  killed,  98,  147. 

Bonham,  M.  L. :  first  and  last  brig 
adier-general  appointed  in  South 
Carolina,  481. 

Bostick,  Captain,  428. 

Boswell,  Major  George,  62. 

Boone,  J.  W.,  scout:  killed,  67. 

Bourke,  scout,  234. 

Bourck,  scout:  killed,  283. 

Bradley,  John:  scout,  138. 

Bradwater,   Abe,   326. 


582 


INDEX 


Brandy  Station:  battle  of,  132, 
149;  Butler's  Cavalry  at,  165- 
170;  losses  at  compared,  170; 
losses  of  Second  South  Carolina 
Cavalry  at,  171 ;  Hampton's  brig 
ade  at,  171. 

Briggs,  Capt.  John,  116. 

Brooks,  Capt.  James  Carroll :  fam 
ily  history  of,  9-10. 

Brooks,  W.  B. :  tribute  to  the  mem 
ory  of,  7-8 ;  assists  in  capture  of 
gunboat,  116;  makes  successful 
ride,  120;  killed,  248. 

Brooks,  U.  R. :  portrait  of,  4 ; 
elected  historian  Butler's  Cav 
alry,  13;  passport  issued  to,  12; 
attempts  practical  joke  and  gets 
a  fright,  122 ;  given  charge  of 
Butler's  papers,  172;  celebrates 
18th  birthday  in  camp,  361-362; 
loses  horse,  420;  leads  a  charge, 
424 ;  slept  while  Columbia  burned, 
459. 

Brown,  Angus  P. :  wounded,  178 ; 
prison  experience  of,  496-497. 

Broughton,  Lieut.  W.  W.,  164. 

Buchanan,   Captain :   wounded,   486. 

Buckhalter,  Dr.  Charles,  335-336. 

Buford,   Munce:   sketch  of,  287. 

Bunch,  J.   J.,  385. 

Bushnell,  Abner :  wounded,  244. 

Burch,  Press,  339. 

Bush,  Ike:  wounded,  249. 

Burrell,  Billy,  361. 

Butler's  Brigade :  survivors  of  form 
organization,  13;  left  impression 
on  Yankee  officers,  211 ;  one  meet 
ing  with  enough  for  Sheridan, 
212;  at  Cold  Harbor,  225;  known 
as  fighting  cavalry  from  South 
Carolina,  350;  makes  dismounted 
charge,  352;  Gen.  E.  M.  Law 
commands,  474 ;  saves  Richmond, 
494. 

Butler's  Cavalry:  record  of  re 
viewed  17-18;  at  Trevillian  Sta 


tion,  236;  at  Brandy  Station,  165- 
171. 

Butler,  Capt.  James :  fights  duel, 
427,  446. 

Butler's  Division :  in  Lexington 
County,  403 ;  gets  rid  of  wheels, 
468 ;  bivouacks  at  Anderson's  Mill, 
469;  crosses  Catawba  River,  470; 
fired  on  by  Yankee  Bummers,  471. 

Butler,  M.  C. ;  portrait  of,  15 ;  pre 
sented  horse  by  Sons  of  American 
Revolution,  22 ;  address  of  accept 
ing  same,  23-25;  family  history 
of,  51 ;  makes  notable  speech  in 
libel  case,  55;  becomes  candidate 
on  Reform  ticket,  56;  aids  in 
election  of  Hampton,  57 ;  elected 
U.  S.  Senator,  57;  prosecutes 
negro  military  company  at  Ham 
burg,  S.  C.,  57;  appointed  Major- 
General  U.  S.  A.,  58,  69;  ap 
pointed  on  Cuban  Peace  Commis 
sion,  59;  saluted  on  73rd  birth 
day  by  "The  Evening  Record",  59 ; 
death  of,  59-61 ;  contributes  $10  to 
Woman's  Monument  Fund,  61  ; 
leaves  Edgefield  as  captain 
Edgefield  Hussars,  62;  pro 
moted  in  succession  from  cap 
tain  to  major-general,  69;  tells  of 
evacuation  of  Yorktown,  70;  at 
Chamberburg,  Pa.,  80;  makes 
splendid  retreat,  83;  captures 
Yankee  Christmas  presents,  85; 
at  Bacon  Race  Church,  88;  tells 
joke  on  Col.  Frank  Hampton,  89; 
ordered  to  Brandy  Station,  151 ; 
tells  of  his  injury  and  Farley's 
death,  155 ;  cussed  some,  205 ;  per 
sisted  in  riding  gray  horse,  207; 
as  seen  by  J.  C.  Foster,  218-219; 
R.  S.  Park's  letter  to,  220;  kind 
to  privates,  223;  receives  order 
direct  from  Gen.  Lee,  224 ;  in 
forms  Gen.  Lee  as  to  Grant's 
approach,  226;  had  no  use  for 
"domineckers",  227;  hero  of  Tre- 


INDEX 


583 


villian  Station,  230;  captures 
Capt.  Chas.  Loeser,  241;  re 
gretted  that  he  did  not  allow 
Loeser  to  break  sword,  243; 
sends  "cheeky"  order  to  Col.  Rut- 
ledge,  243;  sends  word  to  Hamp 
ton,  that  "it  is  hell  to  hold  and 
hell  to  let  go",  245 ;  commands 
1st  Div.  Cav.,  A.  N.  V.,  247; 
Sheridan  no  match  for,  252-253; 
presents  captured  battleflag  to 
South  Carolina,  258;  letter  to 
from  President  Jefferson  Davis, 
260;  letter  to  from  Geo.  D.  Shad- 
burne,  260-261;  letter  to  from  A. 
H.  Lark,  261-262;  letter  to  from 
R.  T.  Dunlap,  262-263;  defeats 
Wilson  at  Sappony  Church,  274- 
278;  at  Stony  Creek,  279,  280; 
at  Lee's  Mill,  302;  succeeds  in 
daring  undertaking,  304;  repri 
mands  an  officer,  333;  name  good 
for  brandy,  348;  promoted  major- 
general,  356;  gives  example  of 
noble  self-sacrifice,  361 ;  captures 
200  prisoners  and  19  wagons, 
422 ;  captures  pickets  without 
shooting,  425 ;  tells  of  Kilpatrick's 
escape,  443-447;  watches  brother 
fight  duel,  446;  orator  of  the  day 
at  Chester  reunion,  465-477;  de 
stroys  Gov.  Aiken's  wines,  467; 
urges  Gen.  Hardee  to  attack 
Blair's  Corps,  471-472;  suggests 
haste  in  evacuation  of  Cheraw, 
472;  becomes  ranking  cavalry  of 
ficer  of  Johnston's  Army,  476; 
signs  muster  roll  of  Johnston's 
Cavalry,  476;  distributes  $17,000, 
477;  with  100  men  causes  Wil 
son's  men  to  stampede,  494;  mili 
tary  offices  held  by,  478;  com 
mands  of,  478;  staff  of,  478; 
speech  of  at  unveiling  of  Hamp 
ton  monument,  552-576. 
Butler,  Gen.  William:  fought  In 
dians  in  1779,  26;  family  history 


and  Revolutionary  record  of,  26- 
50;  elected  sheriff  of  Ninety-Six 
District,  43;  receives  Gen.  Wash 
ington,  44 ;  elected  major-general, 
44 ;  elected  to  Congress,  44 ;  ap 
pointed  on  committee  to  try  Gen. 
Wilkinson,  but  resigned,  44 ;  re 
signed  seat  in  Congress  in  favor 
of  Jno.  C.  Calhoun,  45;  placed  in 
charge  of  troops  in  Charleston, 
45 ;  appointed  brigadier-general 
U.  S.  A.,  but  refused,  45 ;  brothers 
and  sisters  of,  46 ;  buried  at  Big 
Creek,  Edgefield  District,  S.  C., 
49. 

Butler,  O.  N.,  361. 

Butler,  Pick:  arrested,  345,  346. 

Butler,    Tom,    scout:    killed,    137. 


Caldwell,  D. :  lost  his  staff  but 
tons,  265,  276;  gives  details  of 
capture  of  Grant's  cattle,  308- 
324. 

Calhoun,  Juo.  C. :  portrait,  175 ; 
furnishes  historical  facts,  186- 
187 ;  diary  of  from  May  to  August, 
1864,  189-192;  letters  of  from  the 
front  to  his  sister,  291-294;  fam 
ily  history  of,  295-298. 

Capture  of  Grant's  cattle,  as  told 
by  E.  L.  Wells,  312;  as  seen  by 
an  artilleryman,  314. 

Carson,  Ben :  scout,  163. 

Carter,  Bill:  scout,  163. 

Charleston,  S.  C. :  "Cradle  of  Se 
cession",  469. 

Charleston  Light  Dragoons :  an 
honor  to  belong  to,  429. 

Cheus,   Major  Preston,  248. 

Church,  Captain,  246. 

Citadel  Boys :  Gen.  R.  Dean  writes 
of,  441-442. 

Claxton,   Bill:    killed,   249. 

Cleel,  scout:  killed,  283,  390. 

Cobb,  Lieut.  R.  S. :  killed,  329. 

Cogburn,  Fayette:  killed,  428. 


584 


INDEX 


Columbia,  S.  C. :  photographs  show 
ing  scenes  of  in  1865,  facing  45G; 
burned  by  Sherman,  570;  burning 
of  violation  of  rules  of  civilized 
warfare,  466;  evacuation  of,  466: 
Gen.  Lafayette's  visit  to,  480: 
Confederate  Veterans  march  on 
flower-strewn  streets  of,  481. 

Colvin,  J.  C.,  scout:  gives  account 
of  last  war  trials,  408-410;  other 
wise  mentioned,  111,  404. 

Collins,   A. :   wounded,   193,   418. 

Confederate  Soldiers  bride,  485. 

Confederate  Soldiers :  essay  on, 
488-492;  fought  the  world,  493; 
all  like  Brother  Jarnegan,  492. 

"Congaree  Mounted  Rifles",  64. 

Conrad,  Major  Holmes:  shoots 
Yankee  color-sergeant,  244. 

Cothran,  Sam :  killed,  428,  475. 

Crafton,  George:  scout,  136,  162. 

Cunningham,  "Bloody  Bill,"  29,  38, 
39,  40,  41. 

Curtis,  Isaac,  90,  411. 

D. 

Day,  A.:  killed,  193. 

Day,  N. :  killed,  193. 

Day,  Jim:  scout,  163. 

Donnelly,  Dave:  scout,  163. 

Donnelly,  George:  scout,  163. 

Davant,  John  C. :  recruits  com 
mand,  172. 

Davis,  Flynn:  captured,  425;  eats 
a  bite  while  battle  rages,  434; 
kills  cruel  prison  guard,  435. 

Davis,  Glen  E :  expert  with  pistol, 
214-215;  portrait  and  sketch  of, 
421;  captures  Colt's  revolver  for 
Hampton,  435;  wears  silk  sus 
penders,  436. 

Davis,  Zimmerman :  portrait  of,  92 ; 
promoted  Colonel,  287,  352 ;  other 
wise  mentioned,  245,  346. 

Dedication.  6. 

Delaney,  Pat,  483. 


Dennis,  Edward :  terror  to  Yankee 
raiders,  93;  kills  negro  from  Bos 
ton,  94;  deserves  monument,  95. 

Devereaux,  Miss  Agnes,  431. 

Devereaux,  Miss  Kate,  431. 

Devereaux,  Lieut.  Jno.  P. :  shot  in 
five  places,  434. 

DeVoe,  John:   scout,  163. 

Dickson,  Michael  Calvin :  sketch  of, 
299-300. 

Dismounted  Battalion  :  the,  380-382  ; 
organized  by  Jas.  G.  Holmes,  380 ; 
took  part  in  Gravelly  Run  fight, 
381;  remounted  at  Charlotte,  381. 

Dunovant,  Gen.  John :  begs  to  be 
allowed  to  charge,  331 ;  wounded, 
332;  succeeded  by  Gen.  Stokes, 
332;  death  of,  335,  351;  should 
have  monument,  335;  slayer  of 
gets  medal,  337;  buried  at  Ches 
ter,  S.  C.,  339;  portrait  and 
sketch  of,  479. 

Dow,  Gen.  Neal :  captured,  144 ; 
writes  letter  from  Libby  Prison, 
145 ;  exchanged  for  Gen.  W.  H.  F. 
Lee,  146. 

Dowling,  Rev. :  portrait,  237. 

Dwight,  Col.  C.  S. :  refuses  to  sur 
render,  486. 

Dulin,  Jim,  scout:  wounded,  129; 
family  history  of,  489-491; 
swears  to  avenge  brother's  death, 
490;  wounded  at  Cantey's  Farm, 
491;  mentioned,  11,  136,  162,  404, 
417. 

Dulin,  John:  died  in  camp,  489. 

Dulin,  Lemuel:  killed,  489. 

Dulin,  Edward :   wounded.  489. 

Dulin,  William:  murdered,  489. 

E. 

"Edgefield    Hussars",    63. 

Eison,  N.  B.,  463. 

Eisom,   Perry,   110. 

Elliott,     Gen.     Stephen :     wounded, 

294. 

Elliott:  scout,  418. 
Evans,  Col.  P.  G. :  killed,  182. 


INDEX 


585 


Fant,  C.  M. :  wounded,  193. 

Farley,  Capt.  W.  D. :  killed  near 
Brandy  Station,  160-168;  died  on 
battlefield,  149;  buried  at  Cul- 
pepper  Court  House,  Va.,  158; 
death  of  told  by  Calvin  Harper 
(colored),  184-185. 

Farley,  Major  Henry,  334. 

Ferguson,  Major  Dug,  268. 

Ferguson,  Major,  Tom :  portrait, 
175;  commands  regiment,  245. 

Ferguson,  Sydnor  G. :  captures  Yan 
kee  captain,  376. 

Fifth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  17, 
135,  148,  214,  236,  245,  247,  267, 
288,  301,  325,  346,  347,  350,  380. 

First  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  17, 
85,  91,  136,  147,  151,  166,  174, 
178,  228,  293,  320,  325. 

Fontain,  Dr. :  killed,  336-337. 

Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  17, 
66,  205,  209,  220,  236,  240,  241, 
247,  253,  293,  301,  316,  325,  326, 
328,  347,  350,  380,  423,  505. 

Foster,  Jack :  portrait,  121. 

Fowles,  Newt.:  scout,  136,  162,  504. 

G. 

Gary,  Gen.  W.  M. :  brigade  and 
scouts  on  the  Chickahominy,  163; 
orders  two  promotions — one  for 
piety,  the  other  for  profanity, 
437-438;  died  in  Edgefield,  438; 
portrait  of,  439. 

Garvin,   Billy,  361. 

Georgia  battalion  stampedes  at  shot 
of  Yankee  vidette,  228-229. 

Giles,  Andrew:  wounded,  249. 

Glaze,  R.  M. :  killed,  252. 

Glenn :  wounded,  193. 

Goodwyn,  "Kit":  colored,  370-373. 

Gordon,  Gen.  J.  B. :  eulogizes  pri 
vates,  90. 

Gregg,  Capt.  James  J. :  wounded, 
244. 


Grant,  Xealy :  hero  of  battle  of  Tre- 

villian  Station,  213-214,  250 
Gravelly  Run:  battle  of,  284-286. 
Guffin,  Jim:  scout,  141,  404,  417. 
Guffin,  Lem:  scout,  417,  418. 

H. 

Hagood,  Col.  James  R. :  commended 
by  General  Lee,  368-369 ;  youngest 
colonel  of  the  line,  481. 

Hagood,  General,  347. 

Halcourt,  D.  N. :  wounded,  193. 

Hammond,  Capt.,  62. 

Hampton,  Col.  Frank:  killed,  153; 
at  Brandy  Station,  165. 

Hampton,  Lieut.-Col.  Preston : 
killed,  352. 

Hampton,  Capt.  Wade,  Jr. : 
wTounded,  352. 

Hampton  Monument :  speeches  made 
at  unveiling  of,  550-576;  M.  A. 
Morgan  presents,  550;  Governor 
Heyward  accepts,  550-552;  Gen. 
M.  C.  Butler's  speech  at,  552-576. 

Hampton,  Wade  H. :  suggested  war 
would  last  ten  years,  67;  military 
governor  Chamber sburg,  Pa.,  81 ; 
at  Fayetteville,  N.  C.,  112;  cap 
tured  Captain  Duncan  and  Dan 
Day,  113 ;  commends  privates  for 
gallantry,  113,  428-429;  accused 
General  Wickham  of  being  cause 
of  brother's  death,  169;  brigade 
of  at  Upperville,  174;  presence  of 
inspiring,  222;  at  Trevillian 
Station,  238;  defeats  Sheridan  at 
Trevillian  Station,  239;  held  his 
command  in  suspense,  239-240; 
meets  Kilpatrick  at  the  Bennett 
House,  288;  succeeds  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart,  314 ;  at  Sapphony  Church, 
351;  portrait  of,  353;  division  of 
upsets  Grant's  plans,  356;  tells 
how  to  shoot  pistol,  436 ;  suggests 
improvement  on  Colt's  revolvers, 
436 ;  receives  communication  from 
Sherman,  451 ;  makes  manly  reply 


586 


INDEX 


to  Sherman,  451-453 ;  monument 
to,  550-576. 

Hanley,,  scout:  deserted,  100;  cap 
tured,  232. 

Harris,  Shake:  scout,  111,  276,  282, 
418,  504,  508. 

Hart,  Major :  lost  leg,  357 ;  corrects 
General  Gregg  and  Col.  C.  H. 
Smith  as  regards  the  fight  at 
Gravelly  Run,  307-368. 

Hart,    Jesse,   361,    505. 

Haskell,  Col.  Jno.  C. :  had  thought 
of  others  while  his  own  arm  was 
being  amputated,  360;  colonel  at 
20,  481;  youngest  colonel  of  artil 
lery,  481. 

Haskell,  Willie:   scout,  139. 

Hatcher,  Captain,  243. 

Hawes'  Shop,  casualties  of  Co.  C, 
Fourth  South  Carolina  Cavalry, 
at,  193;  battle  of,  209-215. 

Hawkins,  Morton  L. :  contributes 
interesting  chapter,  373-375;  acci 
dentally  kills  General  Rosser's 
horse,  375. 

Henderson,  J. :   wounded,  193. 

Henderson,  Prioleau,  231. 

Henegan,  Barney:  brave  scout  and 
war  orator,  235;  otherwise  men 
tioned,  136,  139,  140,  162,  234. 

Hodges:  scout,  418. 

Hodges,  G.  H. :  wounded,  427. 

Hogan,  Dick:  near  Petersburg,  103- 
104,  232 ;  mentioned,  100,  135,  162, 
234,  235,  238,  268;  portrait  of, 
131 ;  tells  of  the  battle  of  Brandy 
Station,  132-133;  establishes 
Libby  Prison  No.  2,  162;  men 
tioned,  418,  485,  486,  509. 

Hogan,  J.  D. :  sees  duty  around 
Columbia,  403-407 ;  misinformed 
by  negro,  rode  into  enemy's  camp, 
405;  questioned  by  General  Wil 
liams,  405;  carried  before  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  406;  offers  to  fight 
duel,  406;  suffers  from  old 
wound,  407. 


Holcolme,  Sergeant:  killed,  188. 

Holliday,  Sergeant:  killed,  180. 

Holmes,  J.  G. :  portrait  of,  379 ;  or 
ganized  "Dismounted  Battalion", 
380. 

Hood,  Sergeant:  killed,  180. 

Horsey,  Lieut.  S.  G. :  takes  part  in 
capture  of  gunboat,  118. 

Hough,  J.  M. :  at  Burgess'  Mill, 
382-383. 

Hough,  Lieut.  Mat  J. :  portrait,  237. 

Humphries,  Capt.  Jno.,  437. 

Humphrey,  Capt.  Mose :  killed,  341 ; 
refused  to  submit  to  operation, 
427. 

Hutchinson,  Phil.:  scout,  65;  at  Po- 
cotaligo,  66;  wounded  at  Hawes' 
Shop,  67 ;  shed  tears  at  surrender, 
68;  portrait  of,  379;  otherwise 
mentioned,  66,  67,  104,  417. 

I. 

"Iron  Scouts" :  accused  of  stirring 
up  fight  and  running  away,  111 ; 
named,  136;  numbers  increase, 
139;  surprised  at  home  of  Mrs. 
Rudd,  141;  capture  Gen.  Netil 
Dow,  144 ;  named  again,  162,  238 ; 
capture  Captain  McDonald,  162. 

Introduction,  9-12. 

J. 

Jackson,  Bill :  scout,  309,  506. 
Jackson      attacks      McClellau      at 

Mechanicsville,    78. 
Jeffords,     Lieut.-Col. :     killed,     352; 

buried     in     Magnolia     Cemetery, 

Charleston,  358. 
Jennings,  Pat,  301. 
Johnson,    Cecil,    scout:    killed.    179: 

otherwise  mentioned,  136,  162. 
Johnson,       Lieut.-Col.       Benj.       J. : 

killed. 
Jones,    Ellie    Brooks:    poems   by,    3 

60,  298. 
Jones,   James,   482. 


INDEX 


587 


Jones,  Capt.  Robert  Cadwallader : 
killed,  157,  160 ;  helped  raise  First 
South  Carolina  Cavalry  Regi 
ment,  161. 

K. 

Kennedy,  John  D. :  brigadier-gen 
eral  at  24,  481 ;  otherwise  men 
tioned,  341,  345. 

Kennedy,  Dolph :  detailed  as  scout, 
107,  404,  418. 

King,  Bernard,  scout:  did  excellent 
work  in  1876,  143 ;  otherwise  men 
tioned,  141,  142,  311,  418,  430. 

King,  Lieut-Col.:  killed,  475. 

Kirkey,  W.  C. :  wounded,  193. 

"Kit  Goodwyn,"   colored,  370-373. 

Knotts,  Ben,  404. 


Lafayette  and  the  Confederate  sol 
dier,  480. 

Lanneau,  Lieut  John  F.,  315,  316. 

Lamar,  Major :  killed. 

Lathan,  scout,  390. 

Lee,  Gen.  R.  E. :  orders  his  soldiers 
to  abide  by  rules  of  civilized  war 
fare,  455. 

Lee's  Mills:  battle  of,  301-302. 

Lee,  Stephen  D. :  lieutenant-general 
at  32,  481. 

Lee,  William:  wounded,  193. 

Legare,  Sol:  418,  504,  513. 

Lide,  Layton :  scout,  139. 

Lindsay:  scout,  417. 

Light,    Bill,   418. 

Lipscomb,  James  N.,  361. 

Lipscomb,  Thomas  J. :  ordered  to 
South  Carolina,  139;  portrait  of, 
159;  made  colonel,  160;  sketch 
of,  160-164;  at  Brandy  Station, 
167;  tells  of  rally  near  Stevens- 
burg,  168;  tribute  to  the  memory 
of,  545-546. 

Logan,  Brig.-Gen.  T.  M. :  succeeds 
Dunovant,  474 ;  portrait  of,  476. 


Long,  Lieutenant :  with  30  men  held 
the  enemy  in  check,  246. 

Lumpkin,  Bill :  killed  by  the  "nig 
ger"  squadron,  164. 

M. 

Manning,  Wade  H. :  elected  secre 
tary  Survivors'  organization,  13 ; 
fights  for  Jim  Tradewell,  95; 
recommended  for  promotion,  287; 
writes  sketch,  370;  portrait,  371. 

Manassas  :  why  Pope  lost  the  battle 
of,  77. 

Mason,  James  M.,  361. 

Masonic  sign  saves  lives,  309. 

Mather,  A.  I.:  portrait  of,  221; 
sketch  of,  222;  a  Yankee  brother, 
230. 

Matodoquin  and  Totopomoi  Creeks, 
fight  at,  224. 

Maroney,  Joe:  scout,  163. 

Markert,  Lieut. :  at  Brandy  Station, 
167. 

Maynard,  R.  G. :  writes  from  the 
field,  193-194;  in  error  as  to 
charge  at  Trevillian  Station,  195. 

Mauldin,  W.  L. :  portrait  and  sketch 
of,  377-378. 

Mays,  Sam :  wounded,  249. 

McCalla,  Sergt. :  killed,  282 ;  another 
account,  320. 

McClellan,  General :  charged  with 
being  overcautious,  79. 

McClellan,  Major,  316,  342. 

McDonald,  W.  H. :  wounded,  193, 
293. 

McDowell's  Farm :  Charles  Monta 
gue's  account  of  the  battle  of, 
325-336. 

McGowan,  Sam,  482. 

McGuire,  Capt.,  243. 

McFie,  Capt.  J.  P.,  171. 

Mcllwain :  scout,  390. 

McQueen,  Lieut.  Jno.  A. :  hero  of 
Sherman's  Army,  418;  A.  Toomer 
Porter  writes  letter  regarding, 
418-419;  laments  destruction  of 


588 


INDEX 


property   in   Columbia,   423;    cap 
tured,  424. 

Melton,  George,  361. 

Merchant,  R.  B.,  418. 

Mikler,  Bill:  reward  offered  for, 
340;  kills  Capt.  Judson  Polite, 
colored,  140;  otherwise  men 
tioned,  136,  139,  162,  231,  232, 
235,  509. 

Mikler,  Hugh :  scout,  136,  162. 

Miller,  Sim :  scout,  139 ;  wounded, 
234. 

Miller,  Lieut.-Col.  L.  P. ;  portrait  of, 
340;  ordered  to  break  up  "Dead 
Line"  Camp,  342;  made  soldiers 
out  of  Arabs,  347 ;  otherwise  men 
tioned,  244,  338,  341. 

Miller.  Wallace,  136,  137,  141,  162, 
238,  268,  276,  282,  309,  311,  417, 
485,  486,  504;  portrait  of,  141. 

Mixon,  Col.  F.  M. :  pitches  bomb 
shell,  368. 

Morgan,  Gen.  Daniel :  unveiling  of 
monument  to,  132. 

Morgan,  Gen.  John  H. :  visits  Gen 
eral  Dow  in  prison,  145;  foully 
murdered,  145. 

Morgan,  Major,  J.  H.,  66,  241,  286. 

Morrow,  Bill,  418. 

Moses,  "Shaftsbury",  341,  427. 

Montague,  Charles:  assists  in  cap 
ture  of  gunboat,  116;  has  narrow 
escape,  117,  341;  portrait,  121. 

Moore,  Gen.  James :  recounts  acts 
of  bravery  near  Stevensburg,  '167  ; 
portrait,  175. 

Moore,  Capt. :  wounded,  193. 

Mosby's  scouts  run  from  Blazer's, 
374 ;  turn  tables  and  capture  Can- 
tain  Blazer,  376. 

Moss,  John:  killed,  249,  253. 

Moss,  Mat :  killed,  249,  253. 
N. 

Nettles,  Lieutenant,  344. 

Niblet,  Jim,  102,  110,  418. 

Niernsee,  Frank :  captured,  425. 

Nix,   Jim,  361. 


Orchard,  Belton,  249,  341,  346,  347. 
Ogg,  249,  250. 

49 

P. 

Padgett,  Eddie:  killed,  249. 

Parks,  Pres,  418. 

Perrin,  General,  482. 

Pickets  frozen  at  post,  412. 

Pierce,  John  H. :  tells  of  capture  of 
J.  H.  Brent,  Carroll  and  himself, 
123;  portrait  of,  124;  carried  to 
Washington,  125;  converses  with 
Belle  Boyd,  Confederate  spy,  126 ; 
gives  cure  for  toothache,  128; 
mentioned,  135,  405,  508;  walks 
home  after  surrender,  497-502. 

Preface,  5. 

Preston,  John  S.,  361-367. 

Price,  S.  N. :  wounded,  193. 

Prior,  Private  Roger  A. :  captured 
while  exchanging  papers,  364; 
General  Meade  refuses  to  release, 
365. 

Prisoners  of  War:  B.  F.  Butler 
comments  on,  366;  numbers  of 
compared,  495;  General  Grant  re 
fuses  to  exchange,  495,  536;  U.  S. 
government  responsible  for  suf 
fering  of,  495,  526-527 ;  49,000  die, 
513 ;  essay  on  by  Miss  Ruth  Rodg- 
ers,  531-536. 

Prison  points:  North  and  South, 
533. 

Point  Lookout  Prison :  Southerners 
fared  badly  in,  507. 

Pope,  Y.  J. :  wounded,  69. 

Porcher,  Mr.  Mazyck:  treated 
cruelly,  65. 

Purdee,  Tom :  saves  jar  of  pre 
serves,  161. 

Q. 

Quattlebaum,  Jim :  wounded,  249. 
Quattlebaum,  Henry :  wounded,  249. 


INDEX 


589 


R. 

Radden,   Lorenzie:   gets  "powerful" 

sick,  486. 
Reams'  Station:  battle  of,  303-307; 

Hampton's  report  on,  305. 
Regimental   roll  of  officers  of  But 
ler's  Division,  537. 
Reid,  Oscar  John  Daly:  killed,  91; 

rashly  brave,  147. 
Rhett,  Col.  Alfred,  474. 
Rhett,  John  T. :  describes  a  scene  of 

knightly    courtesy    and    heroism, 

169. 

Richardson,  Hal,  509. 
Rife:    scout,    276,    282,   390. 
Robertson,  Lieut.  F.,  316. 
Robertson,  Mrs.  M.  C.,  14. 
Roundtree,  Bud:  wounded,  249. 
Rosser,  General :  routs  Custer,  244 ; 

captures     District     of     Columbia 

regiment,  308. 
Rons,  Charles  B.,  243. 
Rutherford,  Col.  Wm.   Drayton,  68. 
Rutledge,  Col.  B.  H.,  241,  253,  466, 

470. 
Russell,     Walker,     scout :     portrait, 

379 ;    prison    experience    of,    509- 

512;    mentioned,    111,    141,    142, 

417,  485,  504. 
Ryan,  Rev.  Father:  misquoted,  483. 

S. 

Sanders,  Pat,  506. 

Sanders :    scout,   404. 

Sanderson,  Bill:  scout,  309,  310. 

Scott,  Hugh  Henderson :  becomes  a 
scout,  96;  portrait  of,  97;  cap 
tures  Captain  Mason,  100;  with 
Dan  Tanner  relieves  Yankee 
vidette,  103;  an  army  in  himself, 
107 ;  buys  Butler  a  hat,  108 ;  with 
Perry  Eisom  and  three  others  cap 
ture  19  horses,  110;  with  Hamp 
ton  at  Fayetteville,  N.  C.,  Ill; 
aided  by  a  few  friends  captured 
75  horses,  463;  fails  to  capture 


barrel  of  "Mountain  Dew",  464; 
otherwise  mentioned,  135,  238, 
361,  418. 

Second  Battalion  Cavalry,  S.  C.  V. 
reorganized,  188-189. 

Second  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  17, 
53,  63,  69,  80,  81,  85,  88,  135,  140, 
150,  160,  167,  174,  179,  183. 

Sego,  Tom:  killed,  428. 

Sixth  South  Carolina  Cavalry,  7, 
17,  93,  234,  244,  245,  246,  247, 
248,  294,  301,  316,  338,  339,  344, 
347,  350,  380,  424,  475,  482. 

Sheppard,  Oscar :  wounded,  244 ; 
killed,  341. 

Shipman,   Harmon,  341. 

Shipman,    Ben,   341. 

Shira,  Sergeant :  scout,  136. 

Shiver,  Bob :  scout,  84,  101-102 ;  417, 
509. 

Shiver,  Marion,  scout:  saves  a 
friend,  88. 

Shoolbred,  Jack,  scout:  portrait  of, 
121;  sells  Yankee  negro,  130; 
otherwise  mentioned,  112,  162,  234, 
404,  418. 

Simmonds :  scout,  390,  418. 

Simms,   W.   Gilmore:   portrait,  379. 

Smith,  David,  417. 

Smith,  Davis:  scout,  282,  390. 

Solid   South:   reason  for,  413. 

Sparks,  Calhoun :  scout,  136,  139, 
162. 

Stark,  Lamar:  scout,  139. 

Stokes,  Marcus  B. :  interested  in 
Butler  and  His  Cavalry,  266. 

Sullivan,  Mims :  portrait,  237;  men 
tioned,  340. 

Sullivan,  Jarrard  D. :  portrait,  237. 

Salmon:  wounded,  117. 

Scott,  "Yeller",  "Lem"  and  "Young", 
not  to  be  played  with,  482-483. 

Seibels,  Major  Emmett:  expert 
soapmaker,  306-307. 

Shadburne,  Geo.  D. :  captured,  104; 
engaged  in  fierce  fight,  105;  por 
trait  of,  259;  tells  of  Wilson's 


590 


INDEX 


raid,  279-283;  captures  17  horses 
single-handed,  281;  with  six 
scouts  captures  80  Yankees,  281; 
gives  graphic  account  of  how 
eleven  Confederates  and  a  Yan 
kee  volunteer  captured  or  killed 
negro  cavalry  company,  389-392 ; 
captured,  393;  destroys  telltale 
papers,  394-395;  questioned  by 
Colonel  Sunmer,  396;  attempts  to 
bribe  guard,  397;  on  board  the 
S.  S.  Daniel  Webster,  397;  trans 
ferred  to  the  prison  barge 
"Walkil",  398;  kneels  in  prayer, 
398;  finds  a  friend,  398;  breaks 
his  shackles,  399;  escapes,  401; 
tells  of  Warren's  Raid,  411-414; 
dresses  in  blue,  411 ;  with  20 
scouts  leave  New  York  Zouaves 
to  "tell  no  tales",  412;  gives 
reason  for  "Solid  South",  412; 
mentioned,  238,  276,  308,  313,  417, 
509. 

Shands,  Sergt.  G.  D. :  behaves  gal 
lantly,  248;  promoted  lieutenant, 
28G;  sketch  of,  286. 

Sheridan :  not  suited  to  command 
cavalry,  257;  retreat  of  at  Tre- 
villian  Station,  267-278;  fought 
women  and  children,  279. 

Sligh,  Capt.  W.  II.,  66. 

Sloan,  Jim :  scout,  104,  111,  276,  282, 
390,  418. 

Southside  Railroad :  efforts  to  de 
stroy,  385-386.  , 

Stokes,  Lieut.-Col. :  behaved  gal 
lantly,  277;  succeeds  Dunovant, 
332. 

T. 

Tanner,  Dan:  scout,  105,  112,  276, 
282,  390,  417,  463. 

Taylor,  Alex,  361. 

Taylor,  Dr.  B.  W. :  gave  no  thought 
to  danger,  138;  took  no  heed  of 
cannon  balls,  359;  Butler  grieved 
at  death  of,  416;  portrait  of,  415; 
otherwise  mentioned,  361. 


Thistle,    Dr.    Tom:    captured,    106, 

417. 
Thomas,    Rev.    William :    promoted 

for  piety,  438;   preaches   General 

Gary's  funeral,  440. 
Thornwell,   Gillespie:   killed,   234. 
Thornwell:  scout,  139. 
Toombs,    Gen.    Bob :    meets    Daniel 

Webster's  son  on  battlefield,  138. 
Toinpkins,    Dan    H.,    and    his    Yan 
kee  horse,   163. 
Trapier,  Lieut-Col.,  381. 
Tradewell,    James:    Wade   Manning 

and  Richard  O'Neal  fight  for,  95. 
Treiiholin,  Capt.  W.  L.,  65. 
Trevillian    Station:   battle  of,   236; 

comments   on   battle   of   by   Edw. 

L.  Wells,  255. 
Turner,    Starling,   361. 
Tupper,  James  Young,  Jr. :  a  second 

Jasper,  433. 
Twiggs,  Joe:  scout,  136. 

U. 

Upperville:  battle  of  described  by 
H.  B.  McClellan,  182;  extracts  of 
sketch  of  by  Gen.  James  Moore, 
Hampton's  brigade  at,  177 ;  Mc 
Clellan  sums  up  result  of  battle 
of,  183. 

Ursuline  Convent :  early  history  of, 
456;  established  in  Columbia, 
456;  building  burned  by  Sherman, 
457,  460;  Sherman  testifies  as  to 
burning  of,  458;  Sherman's 
daughter  pupil  of,  in  Ohio,  458; 
moved  to  Preston  mansion,  460 ; 
established  at  Valle  Crucis,  461 ; 
moved  back  to  Preston  mansion, 
461 ;  erects  permanent  home,  462. 

V. 

Verdier,  W.  J. :  gunner,  250,  358. 

W. 

Waller:  scout,  390. 
Walter's  bottery :  captures  gunboat, 
114 ;  saves  a  bridge,  119. 


INDEX 


591 


Walker,  Col.  W.  S. :  forces  of  at 
Pocataligo,  66. 

Walker,  Thaddeus,  J. :  sketch  of, 
200;  captures  Yankee  spy,  200; 
was  it  General  Dahlgren?  203. 

War  horses:  Old  Traveller,  19;  Old 
Sorrel,  19;  Butler,  19;  Don,  19, 
294 ;  Arab,  19,  231,  234 ;  Fall  Colt, 
19,  142;  Old  Bench  Legs,  156; 
General  Butler's  last,  21;  Emma, 
234 ;  Sheriff,  294. 

Waring,  Lieut.  W.  H.,  167. 

Waterbury,  scout:  one  of  the 
bravest  men  in  the  Army,  309; 
treacherously  shot,  310 ;  a  busi 
ness  man  in  Baltimore,  311. 

Watson,  Michael,  36. 

Weldon,  N.  C. :  important  depot  for 
Army  supplies,  384;  attempts  to 
capture,  384;  Warren  destroys 
railroad  track  near,  385-386; 
Hart  and  McGregor  turn  Warren 
from,  386;  Butler,  M.  C.,  rebuilds 
railroad  to,  387. 

Wheeler,   General,   417. 

White,  Dr.  Henry  Alexander: 
praises  Carolina  and  Georgia  sol 
diers,  503-504. 

White,  Col.  Ed.,  243. 

Whitman,  Henry  A. :  describes  An- 
dersonville  prison,  514-528. 


Whittier,  Gen.  Chas.  A.,  of  Massa 
chusetts :  praises  Southern  sol 
diery,  226-227. 

Wickham,  Colonel :  ran  and  falsi 
fied  as  to  cause,  153;  at  a  disad 
vantage,  166. 

Willingham,  John:  scout,  136. 

Willing,  Joseph :  not  afraid  of  fiz 
zing  bombs,  383. 

Williamsburg :  battle  of  might  have 
been  avoided,  77. 

Wilson  defeated,  276. 

Wirz,  Capt,  519-525. 

Winn,  Sergt.  Hill:  killed  in  Colum 
bia,  418. 

Winston,  Major  P.  B.,  243. 

Wright,  Col.  Gid,  444. 

Wright,  Col.  J.  G.,  466. 

Wyche,  John,  361. 

Y. 

Yankee  bummers :  in  and  around 
Columbia,  419;  convicted  by  their 
own  witnesses,  448;  kindled  fires 
in  garrets,  449 ;  insulted  women, 
450;  Butler's  cavalry  and,  450; 
one  of  tells  how  much  he  had 
stolen,  453-454. 

Young,  Gen.  B.  M.  B. :  refuses  to 
surrender,  437 ;  served  in  Con 
gress,  437. 


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